The Messy Truth About Starting Over
You know that feeling when Sunday evening rolls around and your stomach tightens knowing Monday morning is coming? That used to be me... even though I genuinely loved my job.
Weird, right?
For 10 years, I built my entire identity around being a teacher. I had the five-year plan, the ten-year plan. I was going to become a principal, run my own school. I had my trajectory all mapped out, complete with a master's degree and a principal internship.
Teaching wasn't just my career, it was 80% of my identity.
Then something shifted.
The Moment Everything Changed
I remember sitting in my classroom after hours, grading papers under fluorescent lights, when this thought hit me like a freight train: "What if there's more to my story than this?"
Not because teaching wasn't meaningful—it was incredibly so. I had some of my worst days and some of my best days in those classrooms. But as our political climate shifted, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was still something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
The catalyst wasn't COVID, though that didn't help. It was my time teaching abroad in Vietnam. I went there to gain experience and become a better educator. I came back not wanting to be in a traditional classroom anymore.
Living abroad opened my eyes to different perspectives, especially about the U.S. education system. I realized I could pour everything into my teaching, make an impact, and still feel like I was fighting a broken system. It felt like being in a toxic relationship—no matter how much love and effort you put in, the dysfunction remained. I just couldn’t do that to myself anymore.
The Decision That Shocked Everyone
Last year, I did something that surprised everyone who knew me (including myself). I walked away from my secure teaching career to start a content marketing business.
I knew exactly zero things about:
Running a business
Finding clients
Marketing in general
Setting rates
Content strategy
Business operations
What I did know: I needed a change. I loved helping people communicate effectively, and I was willing to learn everything else.
My entire life motto had been "embracing change"—something I'd worked hard on because change is messy and uncomfortable. But this felt different. This felt like a window of opportunity that might not come around again.
The Part Nobody Posts About
Here's what they don't show you in those glamorous "I quit my job to follow my dreams!" Instagram posts:
The night I cried over my laptop, thinking I'd made a catastrophic mistake and wondering what the hell I was doing.
Sending 30 proposals before landing my first real client, each rejection feeling like confirmation that I didn't belong in this world.
The awkward Zoom calls where I pretended to know what I was talking about while frantically Googling terms just below the camera frame.
Living off savings while building something from absolutely nothing, watching my bank account dwindle as my family worried about my financial stability.
The imposter syndrome that hit like waves, constantly battling thoughts of "I haven't been doing this long enough" and "I don't have a strong enough track record."
This wasn't a smooth, aesthetically-pleasing transition. It was messy, uncertain, and often terrifying.
What I Discovered About Starting Over
The hardest part wasn't leaving teaching. It was learning how to believe in myself without the validation of an established role, title, or system.
We often stay in situations not because they're perfect, but because they're familiar. We know who we are there. Starting over means meeting yourself again.
It means asking: Who am I outside of the identity I've built?
For me, that question was both terrifying and liberating.
I discovered that the skills I'd developed as an educator, breaking down complex topics, creating engaging material, truly connecting with people, transferred beautifully to marketing. The empathy, communication skills, and relationship-building abilities I'd honed in the classroom became my superpowers in business.
The Transformation I Didn't Expect
I'm writing this from a café in Mexico City, running Cross Impact Solutions as a digital nomad while exploring Central and South America.
My business helps purpose-driven brands tell their stories effectively through strategic content marketing. I work with companies that want to build genuine relationships with their audiences, exactly the kind of meaningful work I was craving.
But the real transformation wasn't professional. It was personal.
This journey forced me to confront deep-seated beliefs about my worth, success, and identity. For years, I'd been ambitious and goal-driven, partly because I felt I had to prove my value. Starting this business taught me to separate my self-worth from my achievements.
The healing journey I began while living in Vietnam, working through depression, anxiety, and generational trauma, continue as I build my business. Every challenge is an opportunity to practice self-compassion, set boundaries, and trust my instincts.
Why I'm Sharing This
I'm not telling you to quit your job tomorrow. That's not the point.
I'm sharing this because whether you're considering a career pivot, feeling stuck in your current path, or just curious about different possibilities, I want you to know that reinvention is possible. Messy, imperfect, and definitely not linear, but possible.
Your journey might look completely different from mine. Maybe it's not about leaving your career but transforming how you show up in it. Maybe it's about starting a side project, changing industries, or simply shifting your mindset about what's possible.
The point is this: You get to write your own story.
What's Next
Over the coming weeks, I'll be sharing more about this journey, the practical steps, the tools and resources that helped me learn quickly, how I found my first clients with zero portfolio, and the mindset shifts that made the biggest difference.
No sugar-coating. No "overnight success" fairy tales. Just real experiences and actionable insights for anyone navigating their own path of change.
I'd love to know: Where are you in your own journey? Have you ever made (or wanted to make) a big pivot in your career or life? What's holding you back, or what pushed you forward?
Leave a comment below or send me an email. I genuinely want to hear your story!
After all, we're all figuring this out together.
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