Ending a quarter is supposed to feel like closure.
As a Scorpio, I tell myself: I should be good at endings.
Clean. Decisive. No looking back.
But this one?
This one stayed heavy in my chest.
Story Time!
I’ve always wanted independence. The kind you earn, not rush into.
And yet, there were so many reasons to stay.
The team was good. Not just good—we were happy.
Lunches together. Laughter that spilled past meeting rooms. Work that felt like play, and play that somehow still hit deadlines. Every day felt like a small party we didn’t need an excuse for. We wanted to show up.
But somewhere higher up, I burned.
Not the loud, dramatic kind.
The quiet kind you hide so your team won’t feel it.
So I carried it.
All of it.
I stayed longer than I should have.
I smiled wider than I felt.
And slowly, the reasons I once held on to… shifted.
Because I’m a workaholic—and yes, I admit that with self-awareness and a sigh—I did what I always do. I moved fast. Exited one Friday. Joined a new team by Monday.
And again, I was loved.
Again, the momentum came back.
Again, everything moved.
Until it didn’t.
That’s when I learned something no career book prepares you for:
Not every good thing you do will be received as good.
Some people don’t see effort. They see threat.
Some don’t see leadership. They feel overshadowed.
And without meaning to, you find yourself being hurt—not because you were wrong, but because you existed too fully.
And suddenly, this chapter… was ending too.
My Life Insight.
This is the part we don’t talk about enough—especially as Filipinas who are taught to be resilient, grateful, and quiet about pain.
Work can feel like family.
And when it breaks your heart, it hurts differently.
I realized that growth doesn’t always come with applause.
Sometimes it comes with silence.
Or resistance.
Or loss.
And that fear you feel at the end of a chapter?
That’s not weakness.
That’s your nervous system catching up to change.
I was scared. Still am.
But while I was holding on tight, life did something unexpected—it offered silver linings.
New conversations.
Unexpected solutions.
Opportunities I didn’t even know I had space for.
What you can learn from me.
- You can love your work and still outgrow it.
- Protecting others doesn’t mean abandoning yourself.
- Not all endings are failures—some are redirections.
- Career burnout is real, even when things “look good.”
- Being alive means you still get to choose what’s next.
Soft Emotional Ending
Life doesn’t end when a chapter closes.
It ends only when you stop breathing.
So when everything feels like it’s falling apart—when shit truly hits the fan—pause and remember this:
You’re still here.
You’re still breathing.
And that means the story isn’t over.
Maybe it’s just… turning the page.