I was exhausted from fighting with corporate to keep my cafe open. Fighting with shipping, they kept cutting my store hours, dealing with shit from customers upset about the yo-yo'ing hours and the regular every day stuff like how we're not a Starbucks in anyway possible (completely different company) but we should know and have everything Starbucks has. On top, battling depression, medication not working, medical bills piling, crap at home, not making enough money, yatta yatta. Showed up every day, put in my time, still met and exceeded my sales goals but corporate was still shitting on me. My new corporate department head (part of a larger store) was rooting for me, pushing me, proud of me for turning it around at that store and my GM was as well. DM hated me and I didn't know why. I was tired of it. Wanted to commit suicide cuz there was just way too much going on. But too much to live for. This is just a rough patch. I'll get through it.

Didn't want to leave my people cuz I loved them and they loved me. Put in my two weeks notice and my GM was floored because he never saw it coming. People were leaving in droves because they were unhappy with the way corporate was running things and yet I was the last one he anticipated leaving. Really, dude? Not for $10/hr. He said he'd give me until the end of my two weeks to change my mind.

My replacement said he asked for $10.50/hr which is 0.25 more than his girlfriend who had been with the company for 9 years and .50 more than me even though I'd initially started my negotiations at $12. I'd been in the business twice as long as that guy. I'd even increased profits 40% in record time. I smiled when he told me and nodded and just left with no regrets.