Author highlighted some eerily similar parallels to my own development, save that mine was punctuated with more hardship and fuck-ups. This reads like a plain

Author highlighted some eerily similar parallels to my own development, save that mine was punctuated with more hardship and fuck-ups. This reads like a plain need for a sabbatical, or vacation. Maybe even burnout. Fun or "being in love" with work is fickle and generally unsustainable in industry, or depends on factors that are sure to shift (e.g. novelty, colleagues, level of responsibility, etc). It would be one thing if an opportunity for something better presented itself, but at face value it seems this wasn't replaced with anything. Unless you plan to lean-fire your way to the grave, another SWE gig is probably in your future, and it will not matter whether you fall back in love or not.