Letting Go

There are moments in life that force clarity. Not gently, but unmistakably.

This week, I was let go from my corporate role of five years.

It’s not something I planned to share publicly, and certainly not something I imagined writing about. But Maetiques has always been rooted in honesty, and hiding this has made me feel like I’ve been moving through the last few days as a shell of myself. I’ve learned that the most transformative seasons of growth rarely arrive wrapped in comfort or convenience. So, here is that band aid ripping off. 

For the last several years, I’ve lived what many would call a “dual life.” By day, a corporate professional navigating systems, policies, and expectations. And in every other moment, building Maetiques… a business born from passion, grit, and a deep love for the work.

At first, the balance felt okay. Even energizing. I told myself I could do both, grow a career and grow a company, and for a while, I did. But something began to shift as Maetiques grew FAR beyond what I ever imagined. It stopped being a side project and became something that required my full heart, full creativity, and eventually, full allegiance. 

With that growth came a quiet truth: I was changing.

I began thinking differently. Moving differently. Seeing the world through the lens of ownership and responsibility rather than participation and compliance. And slowly, the two worlds I was living in began to drift further apart.

This is not a story about right or wrong or blame or bitterness. It is simply the reality that when you evolve, not every environment can evolve with you.

Being let go was not how I imagined leaving. Like most people, I would have preferred the dignity of choosing my own exit. I had even prepared my resignation to submit in the coming weeks, because I knew I no longer belonged there. While the timing wasn’t mine to choose, the direction still is.

This moment has shown me clarity. 

Clarity about what I value.
Clarity about what I’m building.
And clarity about where my energy belongs.

Entrepreneurship is often romanticized. Right? Flexible schedules, freedom, financial upside, but rarely do people talk about the cost. The cost of exhaustion. The cost of uncertainty. The cost of living in-between worlds longer than you should.

And yet, I wouldn’t trade the path that led me here. Because every late night, every difficult decision, every season of tension shaped the foundation I now stand on.

Maetiques is strong. It is stable. It is growing. And it is where my future lives.

I’m sharing this not for sympathy, but for honesty, because stories like this are far more common than we admit. Because so many people are quietly standing at crossroads, undecided, balancing, and wondering if being pushed forward means they somehow fell behind.

It doesn’t.

Sometimes the door doesn’t close gently.
But that doesn’t make what’s waiting on the other side any less meant for you.

And if this season has taught me anything, it’s this:
You don’t have to apologize for outgrowing the life that once fit you.