My Teaching Chapter Has Ended. What's Next For Me?

Monday, May 6, 2024 (a day that will live in infamy) was my last day teaching as a high school English teacher. I’ve felt a variety of emotions since submitting my resignation, because it wasn’t an easy decision to come to. Actually, it took working in education for five years and teaching as a certified educator for three years to arrive at a point where I knew that remaining in the field of education was not feasible for me for many, MANY reasons. But, the most important reason was that in staying in the profession, I wasn’t honoring who I am, who I am becoming, and the life I’ve always wanted for myself.

For the three months leading up to my official departure, there’s been one moment in time that has been stuck on replay in my mind. It was during my senior year of high school when I was broken, without a home, and unaware of what direction my life was headed toward. Yet, I was certain of one thing and I shared it with my classmates as we all talked about our plans, hopes, and dreams. I knew that I was going to write my way into the life I wanted. I also said I was going to write a New York Times bestselling novel that gets optioned for television (and it’s coming, in Jesus and Tabitha Brown’s name lol). However, what stands out to me most was my boldness and sense of sureness that writing is what I love, what I'm passionate about, and it's what I want my life's work to consist of.

But why am I leaving teaching now?

Well, it was never supposed to be permanent. Teaching is something I just fell into. I was the first person in my family on both sides to attend a four-year university and then became the first to obtain an undergraduate degree. So as you can imagine, the stakes were very high for me. A lot was riding on my success in academia which weighed on me heavily and often. The thought of having to be successful and the requirement to make this degree “count” was an inescapable experience. It felt like the point of a rollercoaster when you’re inching up, eventually getting to a point where the people on the ground look like ants. And just as you arrive at the top, the worst possible outcome happens — you get stuck. Then you begin panicking, realizing how much of a poor decision it was to get on in the first place, but it’s too late.

That’s what teaching felt like for me — a rollercoaster I got stuck on for three years. Whew, it was so tumultuous and if you’d like the full details on it, we’re going to need wine and LOTS of it! But as for now, I’m just grateful to have made it out alive and somewhat unscathed. All of the questions about why I couldn’t find a position before now are being answered. It reminds me of what a remarkable woman once wrote, 

“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”

— Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

What’s next for me and my career…

What’s next for me and best for me is my new position as a City Editor with 6AM City's local publication RALToday! (Subscribe to your nearest major city here) The time has arrived, I’ve finally and successfully pivoted into a position that not only feels aligned but also that I’m very ecstatic about. Being chosen still feels surreal but more importantly I feel prepared and certain about the timing being perfect. 

Yeah, this pivot feels personal and in alignment of divine timing.