Back in October of 2024, I joined about 120 of my former colleagues, or about 9% of the company, and departed Automattic. I joined the company nearly 11 years earlier in 2013. I don’t think it is a stretch to say making the decision to leave was one of the most difficult ones I had to make in my professional career.

If I’m honest, I was at a crossroads where I could settle for the status quo, or challenge myself to new growth. For those who know me, you’ll know I’m not one to take the easy route. After some time off, I’m now actively looking for my next opportunity.

Below you will find the farewell message I left at my time of departure and I’m wishing Automattic all the best.

You started on 2013-10-14. Of the 1,877 other a12s, 102 (5.43%) started before and 1,775 (94.57%) after you.

What a cliché way to start a farewell post I must say but it helps tell our story. When I first joined Automattic I had just graduated with a second associate degree and a plan to continue pursuing higher education. I had been using WordPress for several years at the time and was watching Automattic from afar. It was a pipedream, a moonshot, a fantasy to work here, at the WordPress company. I applied and several months later, after a successful trial and a lengthy Matt chat, Automattic has been my professional home for the majority of my adult career.

Looking at things holistically I can truly say that I have been proud of the work I have done, that we have done, for my tenure of just shy of 11 years. From those early days on +storep2 where we were calling users (yes, on the phone) to renew their domains I was greeted by imposter syndrome an all too familiar phenomenon. 

I’ve learned so much and I feel I am both a better person and a better engineer after being surrounded by so many smart talented people for so long. I’ve learned everything from the very basics of supporting WordPress.com customers to how to lead the support organization of a newly acquired small hosting company during my time at Pressable; I honed those skills when communicating publicly with our passionate forum users while on Chiron; and most recently by supporting some of the highest traffic WordPress sites along with my peers at WordPress VIP. 

That’s enough about me. Automattic was never about me, it is arguably not even about WordPress, it has always been about making the web a better place. That is a mission that I still believe in. I’m not leaving out of a place of malice or bitterness, but out of a place of love and respect for the work we do. There are too many individuals who have been part of my journey to name so I’m not even going to attempt it. From everyone who has led me, sat beside me (both virtually or physically) in a meeting, at a conference or meetup, or even just been a friendly face around P2/Slack over the years. Know you will be missed and I’m always just a ping away. 

The two questions that I have found asking myself over and over again throughout the years and will be the ones I continue to ask myself in the future are:

• “Where can I make the most impact?”
• “Where do I see myself in 3-12 months?”

It was answering these questions in the past few days that guided my decision to leave after much deliberation and a few tears. If I were to leave you with this last bit of unsolicited advice it is, to be kind, and do what is right, even when that is hard.

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O9_ElPTfq4 

Yesterday I completed the 2020 Chilly Hilly ride on Bainbridge Island. This was my second year participating in this event. My goal this year was simple, to do better than the year before.

Last year, I struggle a bit on some of the hills. I had just received my bike, the Teal Tornado a few weeks before. The route has one point where there are two steep hills (12%+ grade) in a row and I ended up walking up one. I also found myself winded and having to stop at the top of a few of the other hills.

This year I made it to the top of all hills without walking my bike at all. About halfway through I decided to try to not even stop at the top of any of the hills. To my surprise I was able to push my body to accomplish this. Overall the ride was enjoyable and I’m looking forward to it next year.

In 2016 I switched this site’s primary domain from BandonRandon.com to Brooke.Ink. Today I’m excited to announce that the new (and hopefully final) domain for my blog is Brooke.Blog.

While I’ve been in possession of the domain since 2016 I can sometimes be a perfectionist. Over the past few years I’ve re-build the site twice from the ground up. With the most recent rebuild my goal was to get back into theme building and to embrace the Block Editor.

I also wanted to separate older content from newer content. Going forward you’ll find posts from today forward in the Post section. For older content, post can be found in the Archives area of this site.

As some of you may know I recently graduated with my second Associates degree. While I may not be a truly qualified to ride a dinosaur (sorry to burst anyone’s bubble) I have decided that I am going to change the world.

I haven’t worked out all the details yet but I do know that I am committed to at least in some small way changing the world. I know that if I set out with this goal in mind great things can happen.

Just so we’re clear, I’m not so naïve to think that it’s going to be easy or so egotistical that I think I can do it alone. This is why I’m asking you, yes you, to join me.  We likely all have a different idea about what a changed world looks like. I think that is great, it means we can all focus on a small part, work together and create waves.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s change the world. Together.

Mrs. Fransen and Mrs. Flenner (Pre-K and Kindergarten):  Thanks for teaching me that it’s okay to be curious and allowing me to explore the world

Mr. Whalen (2^nd grade):For giving me my first lesson in consumer awareness. Your drawing of cow in a blender as the definition of hot-dog is not something I will forget…EVER.

Mrs. Morehouse née Cramer (6^th grade):  For making good on your promise all those years ago and sending me that letter I wrote myself 10 years later. I may have been wrong about the flying cars and computers running the world but I did get some things right.

Mr. Lauri (7^th/8^th grade, Typing/Visual Basic): I might have failed your programming class but the passion and kindness you showed me helped encourage my love of technology.  Not to mention, learning to type is a skill I use daily.

Mrs. Domela (10^th-12^th grade Yearbook/Independent Journalism): Along with helping inspire my love of good design you showed me that it’s okay to be broken (even as adults), to do what you’re passionate about, and to follow my dreams.

Miss Davis (9^th grade English/12^th grade TA) Treating me like an adult and with respect. Also thanks for letting me (as a senior) give a speech to your class of 10^th graders to complete my CIM. It may not mean much to the rest of the world but it meant something to me, knowing I was in the top 10% of my class.

Mrs. Crumrine (10^th grade Biology) and Mrs. Meritt (9^th grade Chemistry): Thank you for making science fun.

In college there have been too many of you to name. I’ve had some really great teachers (and some not so great ones). Yet, it’s been great learning from you. A quick shout out to Brooke Zimmers, Rachel David, Sigrid Cannon and Bruce Amstutz thanks for your guidance along the way.

Again, thank you to ALL my teachers, the faculty, staff and everyone who has influenced my learning.

Own Your Shit

Okay so you made a mistake. That’s alright, we all make mistakes, but what sets apart the successful people are the ones who admit mistakes. Most of us don’t like the ego blow of saying we were wrong but doing so makes a big difference in the long run. It’s hard, it sucks, get over it.

Figure It Out

Now that you’re admitted the mistake this is the point where you figure it out. This may come in many forms: saying you’re sorry to a loved one, having an unpleasant conversation with a boss, various monetary cost, or just taking steps to solve the problem yourself. The idea here is that you find a way to solve the problem.

Ask for Help

Stuck along the way? It’s okay to ask others for help. For the most part people want to see you succeed. And if not, well ask someone else until you find someone who does. Even if you don’t listen to their advice often times listening to it can help you come up with a better solution.

One caveat though is asking others for help solving your problems and asking them to solve them are two different things. Most people are more responsive and willing to help when you can show them that you’ve thought it through.

Learn From It

Congratulations, you’ve just solved a problem! Now it’s time to learn from it and move on. Dwelling on your problems doesn’t tend to do any good. Yet, neither does making the same mistake twice.

In conclusion, life is complicated we all screw up and while I have to admit that I’m a hypocrite and sometimes fail to solve problems it may be helpful to have someone else ideas on how they go about solving problems.

For some it brings back painful memories of lost loves, loneliness, sadness and longing to be loved. For others it brings the joy of a new relationship, the happiness years of commitment bring, or even just perspective that there is power in being single and independent. Lastly, it could bring no emotion at all, shrugging off the holiday altogether as just another day, or perhaps celebrate the day the state of Oregon was admitted into the Union.

I don’t know your thoughts on Valentine’s Day but for me it’s a day to be thankful. I’m thankful for all the people who love me (I’m not just talking about the romantic type of love either) and grateful that I get to love them in return. It’s easy to get caught up in the commercialism of the holiday but I say let’s take back Valentine’s Day. Let’s make it a day where everyone is shown they are loved, that they matter. Who’s with me?

Sure it is Christmas
Yet that doesn’t seem fitting

For today feels like any time of the year
Which is why I’m quite contrite

Though it all I learned that there is more to life than money if it means working at a job you hate. That sometimes you have to take a step even if you don’t know the outcome just to do something.  I learned nobody rocks like the girls I’m rolling with. When you think you know it all there is always something to learn. I think most importantly I learned a lot about myself and never giving up. I can’t wait to see what this year brings, this new beginning, this fresh start.

“We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are.”  Adelle Davis

Inspired partly by GOOD’s 30-Day Go Vegetarian Challenge I wanted to share some of my experiences with being vegetarian for the past year and a half. I don’t want to go into the environmental, moral or health reasons why some people choose to stop eating meat or even my own personal beliefs on the issue.

Often times when people find out I don’t eat meat they ask “what do you eat” as if meat is the only choice for food. Over the past months I have learned how to cook more meals than I ever did when consuming meat. It’s amazing how many meals can still be made sans meat. Pizzas, pastas, grains, etc. Of course if you still want to eat meat there are many meat alternatives. It seems I have digressed from posting food ideas and spinned off into a horrible fiery tailspin of a rant about vegetarianism for that I am sorry.  I leave you now with GOOD’s conclusion post from their challenge. Leave your questions, comments below.