The End of My Career in Education

Last day in office at my cubicle

Last week was my last day at my full-time job in education, and it's my outro from that career. I went into teaching and education to help our community, especially while my daughter was in school. But now that she's older, and I've seen the flipside of this system, I'm letting go of this so I can shift into a new life. It's crazy how it lines up...the end of this career, turning 40, the end of a looonnnngggg year, and now with the new year coming up, it literally will be a New Year, New Me.

Earlier this year, I felt extremely out of alignment with leadership and couldn't shake some of the culture, the decisions, and the contradictions, so I wanted a way out....but I felt like I couldn't leave my team because we were such a caring and supportive group and I didn't want to let them down in the middle of a grant. I decided the only way I could leave was if I got laid off. I didn't know how it would happen, but sure enough, I was notified in May that our whole department was closing and our jobs would be done at the end of the year. I've been laid off before because of funding and then brought back with a new grant, but this time, it was a huge surprise because the only real answer was because of "re-org". But then again, I actually manifested this happening (more details on that in a future post), but I never imagined it unfolding like that.

Since May, I've dealt with bullying, narcissism, manipulative games, and even outright betrayal, things that I NEVER thought I would experience working in education. I went into this career with a full heart and have experienced nothing but kindness and people who truly care about others, however these whole 7 months have left me feeling grief, sadness, anger, confusion, and even worthlessness. If I wasn't using up my sick time, I was going into work feeling like absolute nothing. I had to seek therapy and tapped into my self-care superstars to get through it all (meditation, sound healing, astrology studies, breathwork, etc.). I thought about leaving earlier but I stuck through it until the very last day last week. I almost wish I left on my own terms when I first felt that nudge, then there wouldn't be a nasty taste in my mouth, but then again, I know I had to go through this to fully let go and transform.

As I packed up my desk on this last day, only one person came to say goodbye (it was winter break so not many people were in office, but still...) There was no goodbye cake, or even a mention in the weekly digest, and funny enough, other people in the building were shocked to learn that our department closed, even in the last week. It was kept a secret.

But here's the thing, even though I went through some career trauma, I'm excited for what's to come. I'm looking forward to having my time freed up to do whatever I want, while working at home. I'll spend some time building my businesses (yes plural) and will have openings for more opportunities. If you have something in mind for me, hit me up. I'd love to chat.

I actually thought that I shouldn't be sharing this, but that's just the old me being scared because this is MY TRUTH and maybe it will help someone else going through a career transition. I've got more reflecting to do on this whole journey, so stay tuned for more on this transformation. And if you're feeling out of alignment with the work you're doing, listen to yourself!