ABOUT ME

I am a firm believer that some people are meant to be educators…

But that doesn’t mean that every day is sunshine & rainbows.

I began my career in education in 2010, working as a K-8 Physical Education teacher at a private school in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I relocated to New England & taught 7 years of K-5 Physical Education before getting my Masters in Health, Physical Education & Recreation. I felt like I could make more of an impact in a classroom setting & and transitioned to middle & high school Health Education.

A vast influx of challenges in the classroom (cell phones, behavior problems, increased levels of student trauma, challenging families, administrative demands, lack of subs, etc.) made every day feel incredibly stressful and overwhelming.

My union representatives and school besties were great supports, but it started to feel like every conversation was negative and school turned into a place of complaining. I also brought that negativity home & spent evenings venting to my husband.

“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t handle this. I’m sick and tired of feeling this way.” Those thoughts flooded my brain every single day…

I started looking at other job opportunities. I spent my free time researching jobs for teachers that had left education. How else could I use my skills to make an income, but also make an impact?

Several of my friends left the education field & got jobs in the tech industry. Was that where I was headed? Could I do that? Did I want that?

Let’s not forget that education has a lot of perks, also… vacation time, a great schedule, a 9-month contract (allowing for a summer job or even time to relax), the ability to be creative, running my own classroom & making an impact in many lives.

But I came home crying every afternoon. I dreaded going to school every morning. I needed to find a way to decide if staying in education was the right choice for me, because I couldn’t live this way anymore.

I started therapy again. I changed school districts. I deleted school email from my phone. I kept a gratitude jar on my desk. I set boundaries. I treated myself like a professional & gave myself the respect that I deserved & had been seeking for so long… I started to get more of that in return.

I got my groove back. I can help you get yours back, too.