Life After Teaching: What I Learned One Year Later

I’ve learned that I actually love teaching. I always knew this, but after being so bogged down and burned out, the school system left a bad taste in my mouth. I was disheartened. Confused. Ready to leap just to save my soul.

Here we are, a year later, since I made the exit from being a classroom teacher so that I could heal myself. I made the bold decision to leave mid-year, at the end of the semester, without finishing the school year. For me, it felt like God heard my prayers and rescued me when my husband presented an opportunity for our family to move abroad for his work.

It checked off so many boxes. My heart has always desired a life of travel, as I’m an avid wanderer at heart. So this decision felt like a no-brainer. I was leaving my position. I didn’t feel guilt because it was clear: I was choosing my family and myself.

As I celebrated an ending and felt excited about all the possibilities the new year of 2025 held, I began to dream about the newfound freedom I thought I would have. I envisioned diving fully into entrepreneurship while caring for my three-year-old and traveling with my husband. I would build my coaching and consulting business. I would finally have time for my self-care, my health, and my rest.

But no sooner had the new year begun than I was met with a shocking, yet beautiful surprise. I was pregnant.

Once again, God heard my prayers, because this was exactly what my husband and I wanted. But this time, He added another surprise. I was pregnant with twins.

That changed everything.

A twin pregnancy alone can be high-risk, but I was already considered high-risk due to my age and my previous pregnancy. During my first pregnancy, I had a short cervix and was hospitalized for six months. There was no way we could take a chance traveling abroad to a country without strong healthcare for me and our babies.

On top of that, with all the confusion and restrictions around passports and international travel under our newly elected president, it became painfully clear: this was not the time to live abroad. Maybe another time. Another year.

So here I was with no job, pregnant with twins, and needing to move because we had already told our landlord we were leaving. The pressure on our household began to mount quickly.

I often had to pause and remind myself that this was everything I had prayed for. It was a blessing, even if it didn’t arrive wrapped in a pretty bow. Our blessings rarely do.

During this past year of reflection and healing, here’s what I’ve learned:

• It’s all in God’s timing. His plan is always better. It reminds me of the saying, “Tell God your plans and watch Him laugh.”

• Your presence and impact are meaningful, but you are replaceable. When you leave the system, it doesn’t stop or collapse. It simply finds someone else. That truth taught me to take care of myself first.

• Educators’ mental health is in crisis. It’s a silent issue that is rarely spoken about openly, yet visible in the eyes of teachers walking the halls. You see it in stolen hallway conversations, in the need for connection, in the quiet search for a lifeline. Too often, we’re expected to just “suck it up” and do the job.

• We are made to create. When your brain and body finally rest from constant stress, your creativity begins to bloom again. Ideas flow naturally, without force. Your mind returns to its natural state.

• Rest is hard. Stopping feels foreign when your body has been conditioned to multitask and stay productive at all times. Any idle moment can feel wasteful, even when it’s necessary.

• Entrepreneurship requires relearning structure. Creating a consistent daily schedule is challenging when, for years, your time was dictated for you. You were told where to be, when to arrive, and what to do next.

• You realize what you neglected. Your body. Your health. Your home. Yourself. All the things pushed aside in the name of career.

• New passions emerge. You discover hobbies and interests you never had the space to explore before.

• The world suddenly feels bigger. Opportunities seem endless. Your eyes open wider. You may even experience an identity crisis as you explore paths you never had time to consider.

• Going back feels tempting. Familiarity is comfortable. The unknown is scary. Starting over can feel overwhelming. There’s nothing wrong with returning, as long as you’ve done the healing and reflection needed to avoid falling back into the same emotional state that made you leave.

• You may experience PTSD at the thought of returning. Avoiding conversations, schools, or anything that triggers memories of that season.

• Shame, fear, guilt, or regret may surface. Did I make the right decision?

• Self-discovery deepens. You become more attuned to your needs, triggers, limits, and desires.

• Boundaries are no longer optional. You must put yourself first.

This season didn’t unfold the way I imagined—but it unfolded exactly the way it needed to.