COMMENT: 'To give this up felt ... wrong. But so did the continual feelings of exhaustion and frustration. Something had to give.'
I stopped teaching around this time last year because I was exhausted. I was fed up with the relentless emails from administration telling me I had to attend "more" — more professional development sessions, updating software sessions, curriculum development sessions, reporting sessions and whole school "let’s evaluate our mission statement" sessions.
I needed to reconnect with my passion of introducing these teenagers to the power of a narrative to change a life.I had also just completed a manuscript development program for an adult historical fiction novel that I thought may actually be my debut breakthrough. I wanted time to focus on this and I wanted to work in a bookshop, a dream that I have had for a long time. Then, yes! I was offered a position at a local, independent store.
In the meantime, I waited to hear back from a publisher who’d asked to read my entire manuscript. I’d been writing seriously for more than 15 years, this was my 7th manuscript. I stood behind the wooden counter and stared at the covers that surrounded me. Had these authors also faced countless rejections? Probably, yet they had persevered. Waiting for another reply, perhaps another rejection, was so very, very hard.
Indeed, each time they walked out of the shop, something within me gave a little nudge. Then a shove. I was missing them, these sullen, excitable, unpredictable, reluctant, pessimistic, engaged, shy, awkward human beings among whom I had been walking for so long. In fact, and here came the realisation: I needed them.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
A role for the ageless: why Russell Crowe is feeling 'young again'The Aussie actor has nabbed his first Golden Globe nomination in 15 years for playing former Fox News chief Roger Ailes.
Read more »
Why US couple spent $175,000 on 'unicorn of the art world'A Miami couple who bought a headline-grabbing banana duct-taped to a wall have acknowledged the absurdity of the artwork, but say they believe it will become an icon and plan to gift it to a museum.
Read more »
'Maximum security prisoners have more mandated time outside': Why outdoor play is vital for child developmentAustralian parents fed up with screen time and indoor playgrounds are turning to a growing number of so-called forest schools to encourage their children to play outside.
Read more »
This is why the internet is so excited about the trailer for Promising Young WomanA new female-led movie is set to challenge issues of sexual assault, consent and what behaviours people view as 'normal'.
Read more »
Dear Angus Taylor ... let me remind you of our encounter at Oxford and why it mattersDear Angus Taylor, When you say that you remember Naomi Wolf living a few doors down from you in Oxford 28 years ago, I wonder if you’re mythologising a much less glamorous encounter with a fellow female student – me?
Read more »
If you don't get why people like cricket, last night in Perth is a good place to startFor fans of Test cricket, explaining why we like cricket is not always easy, but the first half-hour under lights as Australia were running rampant against New Zealand's world-class batsmen is about as good as it gets, writes Geoff Lemon.
Read more »