A Leap of Faith (or Two)

Now that my boss knows about it I guess it’s safe to publish on here.  I have decided to quit my job and return to school full time.  My first class is today at 1:00 PM.  I am attending Metropolitan State College of Denver where I will be majoring in Sociology with a minor in Political Science.  Eventually ending up with my Masters in Social Work and a career in Youth Suicide Prevention.  I’ll get more into my political aspirations in a future post.

The major leap of faith here is that I am looking at a significant cut in my income and standard of living.  I will be leaving my full time job as a retail Store Manager and going to school while working a part time job somewhere.  All the years I’ve spent out of school, I’ve continued to climb the ladder at my jobs and have now achieved a level of income that is not typical of a college student.  Along with that is an expensive car note, expensive rent, and various other expenses that I must now begin trimming away.

The other possible leap of faith is that I may not work a part time job at all until November 5th.  I am so extremely dedicated to the Barack Obama campaign here in Colorado and especially the work we are all doing in Arapahoe County that I have seriously considered going to school and spending the rest of my time working on the campaign.

Doing this would require me to live off of student loans for a few months, and so I have requested a slightly larger than normal private student loan to help cover me for the next couple of months.  The large majority of this loan will just be subsidizing my part time income as I go back to school.

My plan was pretty much set until I mentioned to a vendor that I work with indirectly that I was leaving my job.  She immediately implored me to apply for a part time position at her company for 25 hours week and essentially the same money I make now working 52 hours a week.  I have submitted my resume and seem to have a very good shot.

I’m very torn over my options now.  I had completely fallen in love with the idea of working full force for the campaign, and even scheduled my classes in such a way that I will only be in class Monday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon and Thursday evening.  The rest of my time would go to the Obama campaign.  This new job possibility would have me working Thursday evening, Friday evening and all day on Saturday and Sunday when I am most needed by the campaign.

The option of working a job with those kind of hours is outstanding and too good to pass up and so I’ve thrown my hat into the ring and will see how it all turns out.  If I get the job, I must take it and accept a reduced role in the campaign.

Currently I am one of my neighborhood leaders and a strong support to my local Field Organizer.  Losing me on weekends will be a very large blow to the organization that we are just now pulling together, but I really don’t see an alternative.  I mentioned this to her tonight and she was very sad to hear the news, but happy for my opportunities.  She’s passionate and intelligent and it’s a thrill working with her on something we both so strongly believe in

I’m very conflicted, but ultimately I have decided what I will do in either scenario.  If I am offered the job I will take it.  If I am not offered the job I will not pursue a job until November 5th, the day after we secure victory for Barack Obama and the values so many of us hold so dear.