Dear Julia

Looking for you, always

It’s fitting that your last day of work is on the eve of my birthday. Like a new year, it’s an occasion to look backward and forward at the same time. We’re mostly looking forward though the same traits that have served you well the past five years will also be what make you successful as you grow your own company.

It goes without saying that it’s an ambitious thing to do, and though I’ve had my qualms with ambition in the past, I know your heart is in the right place. Most of all, I know that you’re doing what you want to do. That doesn’t make it any less hard, but faced with the knowledge that it was time for something new, many like myself would follow more traditional paths. You, on the other hand, asked yourself what you wanted to see in the world and how you wanted to bring it into existence, and you’re on the precipice of doing just that.

I’ve been awestruck watching you work a full-time job while exploring your entrepreneurial instincts in the spare moments before and after your 9-5. The expertise you’ve gained in a short amount of time should strike fear into any future adversaries. Your energy is limitless, and though you make it look easy, I know it isn’t. I don’t believe in the glorification of side hustles, but the pragmatist that I am can appreciate the way you kept two balls in the air until the one you wanted to see float headed undeniably up into the air.

Your strategy and planning and dreaming and scheming is top flight, but the way you continue to show up for people is your real talent. Despite the crunch on your time, I’ve never felt pushed to the side, and your friends and business partner would say the same. You make time for everyone else so I promise to help you make time for you.

It’s still a leap, no matter how talented and determined you are, but know that I’ll be looking for you, always.

Good luck. I love you.