Over the last few months, I have learned some precious lessons that I guess if I hadn’t quit teaching, maybe I wouldn’t have learned at all. I was always focused on looking okay and smiling even if I didn’t feel like it. It’s something they drill into you on the job.
It doesn’t matter if you had a bad previous lesson or if something is going on outside of work, you always have to greet your next class with a smile and pretend everything is okay even if it isn’t. That experience made me feel like it wasn’t okay to show my emotions and feelings even though that’s what we were preaching to the kids in order to look after their well-being.
All those things we told them on how to take care of their mental health somehow didn’t apply to teachers because we were not allowed to feel low, asking for help looked like a weakness, taking a break or not knowing what you’re teaching the next day looked lazy and saying “no” to anything made it look like you were not committed to the job enough.
Finding myself outside of that restricted environment made me realize so many things and I was so grateful to understand that it was okay not to feel okay and that I was allowed to look after myself in order to get better. I didn’t need to feel ashamed anymore because I needed help or a break, I could just dedicate time to what I needed at that moment.
Despite what others may say, you are allowed to feel however you feel, you are allowed to say no to things that may hurt you or overwhelm you, and above all else, you are allowed to take a break when you feel like something is too much. Don’t allow a person or an employer to make you feel the way I felt, trapped in my sadness and unable to heal.
Choose yourself and put yourself first. Jobs and friends come and go but you only get one life and you should live it the way you want to, not by other people’s standards.
So, today I invite you to show yourself some love and look after your mental health. You will thank yourself later for it.
Creative Writing Studio 