Or, rather, academia said "we don't want you here" and I said "oh, really? Bet"
I'm starting a new job in two weeks all the way outside of academia, after not having my contract renewed as an instructor but encouraged to reapply for other positions, and that was it. The context for me not being renewed wasn't made clear to me, but it almost didn't matter.
In the weeks since that was dropped on me, I have realized something very, very important: what I thought made academia a dream job for me was, actually, being weaponized against me. The idea of mentorship, the close-knit bonds of teacher and student who go all in on advancing knowledge and lives, the feeling of helping people become better versions of themselves? All of that was there, but it was never the point of what I was asked to ever do.
After nearly 8 years working in higher ed, I had to ask myself a very important question: was my life better for the work I was doing? While I worked there, I'd say yes, but that was the employment talking. Now that I've been asked to leave, it turns out that it never actually was the work that made my life better.