The break-up

This morning I talked to my now former advisor. I was pretty worried, but it went well. It really took 2 meetings. The first one was really short, and I think he was pretty surprised. About 30 minutes later he was ready to talk for longer. He asked me some basic questions (Why did you decide to switch? Is there something I (and we in our area) can change?). He also said he was glad I decided on something I was interested in, and was sad I decided to leave my area, but he said what was important was what was best for me. Since I'll probably be working on something on the border of my old and new field, he offered to assist in any way possible. Another professor also asked me similar questions, and offered similar responses.

The responses make me feel bad that I switched, but I know how things were couldn't go on. Maybe I should have tried to talk to my old advisor more first, but he would have had to fundamentally change his advising style and even then it might not have solved the problem since I really do think that area is not the best one for me. This knowledge doesn't keep me from somewhat second-guessing myself, but I think once I start working in the new area, I probably won't look back.