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Description
One of my co-workers had their last work day, aside from some baked goods that I made and brought I drew this. I wanted to celebrate how much that person impacted the workplace for the better, and how she influenced people around her to be better. There was also another reason for me to go to the lengths I did to make her smile.

Her dog was suffering from heart complications and had to be put down. During this time of transition when she'd be going to a new job, learning new procedures and establishing working relationships with her new co-workers in order to get settled in is not something that happens without a little effort. Some of the friends that she worked with will see her a bit less as a result of the job switch also. It's not something that will dramatically change things, as the job is local, but the loss of a pet is emotionally substantial and such stress inducing difficulties shouldn't be compounded.

When my first dog died I had very strong feelings about it and still do, who doesn't? No matter how much I reasoned with why my dog died it only make it that much more obvious that something pure and irreplaceable has been lost. I coped about as well as anyone would have in that situation, I'm not the first, nor the last to lose their dog, but it was still a miserable time and I wanted to show that I genuinely cared for her well being and empathized with her as well. Something beyond a simple Facebook post saying "I'm sorry for your loss". That's something that I thought I wanted when my dog died.

I drew her, and I drew her as well as I could in a way that I felt was comparable to what she was going though. A cold background, pack and burden on her shoulders to symbolize the bad. But she's also moving forward, a coat and scarf to show she's warm and bundled up, the hood half worn that she's warm enough despite the cold and a smile to challenge the world.

The quote at the bottom belongs to Joseph Campbell, and I think it fits nicely. I often will, to entertain myself and my friends at slower periods of the work day, tell vivid whimsical stories that I make up on the spot. They sometimes go on for hours, even when there's plenty of work that arrived to solve our boredom, and they're always a good laugh (so they tell me). She won't hear the ones I make up, but she'll be writing her own now. One where she's the hero.

I feared that she would gain an unacceptable amount of sadness because of everything that was going on. I know that she has great friends and her boyfriend is the coolest damn guy to work with ever (the late shifts when I work with him are the funnest by a good margin). I know they wouldn't let her fall into serious unhappiness. I have little to fear in actuality, but I'm still her friend and so I'm one of those people. I wanted to tell her that the world is ahead for her and it will be as bright as she helps make it, and to be bold and be brave when beset by emotional turmoil, that she is the hero of her own story and to write it and live it for the better.

Be bold, be brave. The world is ahead.

Description
One of my co-workers had their last work day, aside from some baked goods that I made and brought I drew this. I wanted to celebrate how much that person impacted the workplace for the better, and how she influenced people around her to be better. There was also another reason for me to go to the lengths I did to make her smile.

Her dog was suffering from heart complications and had to be put down. During this time of transition when she'd be going to a new job, learning new procedures and establishing working relationships with her new co-workers in order to get settled in is not something that happens without a little effort. Some of the friends that she worked with will see her a bit less as a result of the job switch also. It's not something that will dramatically change things, as the job is local, but the loss of a pet is emotionally substantial and such stress inducing difficulties shouldn't be compounded.

When my first dog died I had very strong feelings about it and still do, who doesn't? No matter how much I reasoned with why my dog died it only make it that much more obvious that something pure and irreplaceable has been lost. I coped about as well as anyone would have in that situation, I'm not the first, nor the last to lose their dog, but it was still a miserable time and I wanted to show that I genuinely cared for her well being and empathized with her as well. Something beyond a simple Facebook post saying "I'm sorry for your loss". That's something that I thought I wanted when my dog died.

I drew her, and I drew her as well as I could in a way that I felt was comparable to what she was going though. A cold background, pack and burden on her shoulders to symbolize the bad. But she's also moving forward, a coat and scarf to show she's warm and bundled up, the hood half worn that she's warm enough despite the cold and a smile to challenge the world.

The quote at the bottom belongs to Joseph Campbell, and I think it fits nicely. I often will, to entertain myself and my friends at slower periods of the work day, tell vivid whimsical stories that I make up on the spot. They sometimes go on for hours, even when there's plenty of work that arrived to solve our boredom, and they're always a good laugh (so they tell me). She won't hear the ones I make up, but she'll be writing her own now. One where she's the hero.

I feared that she would gain an unacceptable amount of sadness because of everything that was going on. I know that she has great friends and her boyfriend is the coolest damn guy to work with ever (the late shifts when I work with him are the funnest by a good margin). I know they wouldn't let her fall into serious unhappiness. I have little to fear in actuality, but I'm still her friend and so I'm one of those people. I wanted to tell her that the world is ahead for her and it will be as bright as she helps make it, and to be bold and be brave when beset by emotional turmoil, that she is the hero of her own story and to write it and live it for the better.

Be bold, be brave. The world is ahead.