Teaching and mathematics have been a major part of my life. I’ve been tutoring longer than I have been teaching. Moving forward without teaching hasn’t hit me yet because I’m still teaching. But I get more nostalgic every time I think about my retirement from teaching.
My meeting with my state retirement specialist on Thursday confirmed my pension numbers. It wouldn’t make a difference if I stayed five more years and retired early. I still have earned the state pension retirement plan.
I woke up this morning with a sense of nostalgia because I remember how it was struggling as a new teacher and paying rent. I no longer have that because I have real estate investments and a nest egg set on the side.
The moment to pivot away from teaching and mathematics is staring me in the face because I’m several months away from retirement. I’ve applied for other jobs. I’ll drive a truck and deliver mail to residents; the other is to buy time until I get my delivery driver job.
As for my writing income, I’ve seen a decrease in my monthly income. But I’ve been writing more on NewsBreak, Short fiction projects, and ghostwriting on Upwork.
I thought it would be so easy to let go of teaching because I’ve dealt with so much stuff in the classroom, with parents, and with disrespectful students many times in my career. I used to always to say, I’ll leave and not look back.
But the reality hit me when I finished my interview with my state retirement specialist. Many stay in public schools to teach because of the retirement benefits, but many leave because, as a teacher, you have to endure many unpleasant things throughout your teaching career.
The one thing that has helped me with moving on from teaching is writing online. I journal, write online, freelance, and on platforms like Medium, NewsBreak, and ghostwrite on Upwork. Writing helped me prepare to pivot and move forward from teaching and mathematics.
Opportunities are everywhere. I need to take advantage of opportunities. I also need to identify the opportunities. The opportunity to do something different than teaching and mathematics excites me because it’s a new venture.
I’m looking forward to pivoting into my next chapter, but at the same time, I feel sad because I’ll be giving up something that has been a part of my life for almost 30 years.
But I’m ready to pivot.
Change is always hard especially with regard to leaving a job you have spent so many years in - I am glad to hear you are looking forward to your writing endeavors ;)