Miseducation
This time last year, I felt dread when I entered the grocery store and saw cheery signs reminding parents that school would be starting back soon. Now, I just feel sad. It's only been two months since I ended my incredibly brief teaching career, and the wound is nearly as raw as the day I walked out of the high school and into uncertainty. I once described teaching as an abusive relationship, and I still think that's true. I was encouraged to put tons of my own money, free time, and emotional energy into teaching "for the kids," My success depended on how much of myself I was willing to give to a profession that didn't value me as a person or as a teacher, and no minute of the day ever really felt like my own. Now that I've been free for a few months, it still feels like an abusive relationship. When I see school supplies or a reminder of my former life, I feel a pain and an emptiness. I start to question if I made the right decision or if there's someth...