A Peek Behind the Scenes

Would you believe my journey online began as a blogger?

That’s right. I was the infamous “Single Momma of Three” on the social media and blog net.

And by infamous, I mean like maybe 10 people were reading my blogs.

But 10 turned to 20 and then that was my max. LOL

But seriously, building my website with Wix as “Single Momma of Three” is actually what equipt me to have the web design and communication skills needed to slowly bring Kinda Sorta Teacher to life years later.

I’ve been on a hiatus of using my craft of the written word in blog format for some time. I am primarily marketing via video over on TikTok or in my IG Reels and primarily share my writing inside of captions, sales copy, and Canva creations these days.

But ultimately, there’s something that feels so warm and nostalgic for me to be sitting on my toddler’s yellow foam coach that I snagged from Sam’s Club (on a brand deal, whoop whoop) and let my fingers stroke the keyboard without any true intention or strategy behind the words pouring out.

So let me ask you, friends. What have you stopped doing that you love?

Reading, going on walks, writing, working out, cooking, organizing, spending time with friends? 

Because, truly, all of those things I mentioned above are forms of self care. It’s so easy to get sucked into the profession and forget that we are a human outside of the four walls of our classroom.

Recently in a presentation by the brilliant Nicole Parks, participants Dr. J and Allie shared that we often forget what self care actually is. It’s not just a silly little buzzword that gets thrown around social media (even though that’s how many of us were introduced to self care in 2020), but self care is different for each and every human.

Self care is simply caring for yourself.

No matter what that looks like.

Getting more sleep. Relaxing with a partner. Walking on your favorite trail. Playing Uno with your kiddos. Reading in bed for 15 minutes before lights out. Drinking a glass of wine with your work besties after a shitty week.

We often put these cliche rules on what self care must look like to qualify as self care, but when we do that, self care begins to feel like a chore. It feels like one more thing we are forced to do, that we don’t actually have time for, that we actually don’t want to do.

And then here’s the doozie… doing self care as a chore isn’t actually caring for yourself.

That would be allowing society and social media influence to corner you into doing more shit that you don’t enjoy.

Instead, let’s rewind and get back to you.

Who the heck are you outside of the classroom?

Most of the time I find one of two things.

We know who we are, but are disconnected from that person because our identity has morphed into one that claims the throne-- teacher. 

Or we don’t quite know who we are as an adult because we’ve had no time to explore what that looks like. We followed the pipeline from college, to teacher, to settling down with a partner, to having children, and that’s that. 

We don’t know who we are.

This summer, I challenge you to explore who TF you are. What brings you JOY. Chase that feeling and create time on your break to explore those things that will make you feel like YOU again. 

Here’s what self care looks like for me. Again, we are all different, so this just is giving you a snapshot of the person behind the Kinda Sorta Teacher mask:

I love working on graphic design in Canva (I like to see it as digital art even though it happens to be a part of my job too)

I love watching historical fiction shows from the Anglo Saxon and Viking Era (The Last Kingdom and Vikings are my fav)

I love eating popcorn late at night and talking to my husband in bed about all of the ideas I have swirling in my head.

I love going to dinner with my friends, husband, and sister (not all at the same time)

I love reading a good memoir. I love grit and the struggle. 

I love calling my grandma (Guppy is her name, don’t tell her I referred to her as grandma) or my biological father on the phone (we live about 8 hours away and I wish we lived in the same town).

I love sitting at the beach, walking in the sun, and sitting on my back porch.

I like writing (hence, here we are this random blog post that I had no intention of writing tonight and here we are talking about self care as I am pouring into my own self care)

Simple. That’s my self care. That about sums up all of my favorite things and they all leave me feeling recharged, refreshed, and a sense of calm amidst my hectic life.

I’d love for you to explore who the F you are outside of the classroom this summer as well. Your heart deserves it.

If you want to catch the replay of the self care training entitled “Shake the Ick” you can access it inside of The Social Emotional Classroom by logging in here. If you aren’t a member, you can get a 14 day free trial here.

For my teachers who are SO TIRED of the BS of the school system and are desperately eager to find themselves again, enjoy the profession like they did year 1, and connect with educators Nationwide who “get it” you need to RUN to The Social Emotional Classroom right now.

I launched a brand new experience inside for members only called “Burn It To The GROUND” where you can come together with teachers across the country who love teaching but want support and community with the BS system we are trying to fix one school year at a time.

You are my people and I can’t wait to connect with you inside.

The Social Emotional Classroom has evolved. It’s the ONLY place you need to be to connect deeply with your students and feel more joy, fulfillment, and balance in the profession.

Click here to get a 14 day free trial and then it’s just $10 a month.

Yes, $10 for 175+ SEL and holiday resources to connect with students, access to LIVE and pre-recorded bite sized PDs (that teachers actually need), and LIVE Q&A monthly with our new behavior specialist, Nicole Parks.

I’ll see you inside of The Social Emotional Classroom x Burn it to the Ground.