Teaching Broke Me Before It Made Me

No one tells you how much of yourself you’ll lose in a classroom. I used to think teaching was about lesson plans and patience, but it’s mostly about holding yourself together while everything falls apart. I remember standing in front of 28 seventh graders, pretending I had answers. My voice shook every time the principal walked by. I started counting days by how many times I cried in the supply closet. Every email felt like a warning. Every parent meeting, a trial. I stopped sleeping. My friends stopped asking how work was. I kept telling myself it would get easier. It didn’t. I’m not sure who I am outside of school anymore. Maybe I never knew. #TeacherBurnout #NotJustGrades #ImposterSyndrome #Education