Dear Cafecito,
As a 39-year-old millennial, I’ve recently gone through a big, drastic change, both in my career and my personal life. Leaving the school district I’d always wanted to work in was one of the most difficult things I had to do. I was also a year away from getting my 10-year anniversary ring for having worked as an ELA High School Teacher for almost a decade. However, my physical health kept getting worse, and I also felt lke I was losing touch with myself. I felt disconnected with my purpose in life. The constant illnesses and the feeling of not being able to meet my own expectations led me to take a leap into the next chapter of my life to take better care of myself.
Highs:
Working from Home: Switching to working from home in the summer has been a huge change for my mental and physical health. It’s definitely helped me find a better balance in my life, and I also landed my dream job of working as a school counselor.
Weight Loss: Since I left the classroom in May, I’ve lost about 50 pounds overall. This has been a big step towards getting my health back and feeling better about myself.
Academic Progress: I’m making good progress on my dissertation, which has been both difficult and rewarding at the same time.
Creative Journey: I’ve been designing and illustrating more this year. Stay tuned for some behind-the-scenes content.
Lows:
Health Challenges: 2024 started off with a health problem. I got COVID for the first time in January, and then I had an ear infection that lasted for a good while. Going through this was definitely tough on my body and my mind.
Chest Pain: Earlier this year, I started getting chest pains very frequently, which was a wake-up call to take care of my health and make some changes to my lifestyle. I was always feeling anxious, and it didn’t help that I would drink a lot of energy drinks just to stay away and function during the day because I had stayed up creating the lessons and activities for the following day.
Looking back, I know that change can be scary and hard, but it’s also a chance to grow and improve your life. I’m still going through this journey of healing, and I’m hopeful and determined to make a more meaningful chapter that will make a positive impact on the people that I love and care about.
Journey to a New Career Path
I always dreamed of becoming a classroom teacher ever since I was a little girl. I always dreamed of having a classroom, a place where we could all learn and grow together from each other.
I am very fortunate for having had the opportunity to teach my students the reading and writing skills they needed to learn. I knew I had done my job when students would thank me for not giving up on them and always going the extra mile to help them understand everything they needed to know about reading comprehension and feeling comfortable with writing a draft.
Over time, things got a bit difficult after the global pandemic. Collaboration was just not the same anymore with my colleagues. I started to feel like I was the only one trying to make things work, and my efforts to encourage teamwork were often ignored.
The stress took a toll on my health because I was always feeling anxious and overwhelmed, especially at night when I would get chest pains because I was worried about the next day’s possible walkthroughs. I honestly thought something was wrong with my heart for a couple of weeks because the pain was more than just heartburn. Then, I got COVID-19 in January 2024. It was a really tough time for me, fighting the illness and realizing that I needed to change my life. Being sick made me think about what I really wanted in life. Every night, lying in bed with chest pains and anxiety, I knew I couldn’t keep going like this.
So, I decided to change my work environment. I started looking for new job opportunities right after recovering from being sick. I remember still feeling a bit weak and logging onto the computer. I decided to give LinkedIn a chance and searched for remote jobs. I applied for a couple of counseling jobs, and interviewed for a few different roles in February and March. Each job opportunity showed me a glimpse of a different future where I could have a different life and also be successful. In May, I finally landed the job of my dreams. A remote counseling job, which I truly love.
I stil needed to make lifestyle changes with my physical health, so I started changing the way I ate. My perspective started to completely change day by day. From this summer on, everything changed. This new job was exactly what I had been praying for every night. It is December 2024, and I feel really good about myself and my purpose in life. I ended up losing about 50 lbs, my cortisol levels have dropped, and I have a lot of support from my colleagues. I am excited about the future and feel like I have control of my life once again.
Looking back, I am glad for my experiences and everything that I went through, good or bad. These experiences taught me to listen to my mind and most importantly, to my body. I learned that it is okay to step out of my comfort zone and try new things. Now, I look forward to each new chapter with a new sense of hope and purpose.
What were your highs and lows of 2024?
Share in the comments! I am looking forward to reading about your experiences.
I really appreciate you taking the time to read about my experiences. I'll be back soon with another post, especially since I have a few vacation days coming up.
Sincerely,
Clari♡ from The Cafecito Diaries ☕️📝 | 💌 hello@claribotello.com
Disclaimer: This post is provided for educational and informational purposes only. This post does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services.