Welcome back to Life's Next Lesson Plan. Today's
episode is for anyone who has ever felt that
tug, that nudge in your gut that says maybe it's
time for something new. So excited to introduce
you to someone I've admired from afar for years
and finally got to connect with in person. And
now for this new chapter in my life. Our guest
today started her career in education, but like
many teachers, she reached a moment where staying
no longer felt aligned. Instead of feeling stuck,
she made a leap, a brave one, into entrepreneurship,
motherhood, and a completely new career that
gives her what she was craving most, freedom,
flexibility, and fulfillment. Today, she'll share
how she navigated the transition out of teaching,
built a thriving business as a virtual assistant
and human grace representative, and learned to
trust her intuition even when the path ahead
wasn't fully clear. If you've ever wondered what's
possible when you rewrite the rules for your
own life, this conversation is for you. Thank
you for joining me for another episode of Life's
Next Lesson Plan. I'm Rachel, and I started this
podcast during my 29th and last year as a high
school teacher. The goal of my work with Life's
Next Lesson Plan, as well as my Live and Learn
Patreon, is to create a connection where we are
all teachers. We all have lessons and stories
to share that can help others. I'm so fortunate
to be able to extend the four walls of my previous
classroom to an unlimited audience. where we
can all learn from each other. And my guests
are some of the most inspirational people with
the best stories and lessons I know, which is
why I want to share them with you. Their words
are something everyone should hear. It is my
hope that you are able to take away something
from each episode to apply to your own life,
whether that be a career search, path to a more
fulfilling life, or new ideas on current topics.
I'm so honored today to introduce you to our
guest, Sammy Christopherson. It's funny because
actually I was thinking about when I first met
Sammy and I was trying to remember if I had ever
met her in person or not because some of my guests
I have never met in person and I think I did
meet her one time and one time only. Years and
years ago when we were both in the beach body
world I think we met at one of the conventions
along the way. So I have technically met her
one time in person, but I definitely was joking
with her before recording that I do follow her
on social media, have always admired her. And
you will definitely see why after this conversation
today, she's just a very brave, very self -assured,
confident, knows what she wants. She's very much
like me into routine and knows what works for
her. And so I just really have always admired
her from afar and definitely had to have her
on the podcast. So that's how I know Sammy, but
I will let her give you a little bit more about
her specific background before we launch into
our conversation today. So welcome Sammy. Hi,
thank you so much for all your kind words. It's
kind of surreal to me that we're here like this
many years later, which is just crazy. But yes,
previously, I guess to what I'm doing now, I
was in the education world before. What feels
like a short time in the grand scheme of things,
but ever since I was a young child, being a teacher
was the only thing that I ever wanted to do.
So I grew up kind of knowing that's what I wanted
to do. I went to college with no questions. That's
what I wanted to do and actually graduated a
little bit early, pushed through some tough classes,
got my student teaching done, got into the education
world and over the first, you know, three years
that I was in education and the only three years
I really taught school, I kind of realized that
it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. There
was a lot of things that were very different
than I had remembered them when I had, you know,
had the budding passion as a child and even teachers
I feel like who were around back then will say
that a lot has changed in that amount of time
and so it really ended up being a very interesting
experience for me. And I don't think it was anything
specific. There was no specific person who deterred
me from the profession or anything like that.
But I quickly came to realize that the life that
I wanted to live for myself and my family was
not going to be supported by that environment.
And I had to, you know, kind of make the change
at the time when it was crazy, which was the
end of COVID and kind of build a couple of different
businesses for myself and really take that leap
of faith and realize that I wanted to do something
different and kind of just learn by doing and
taking action and figuring it out along the way.
And here we are now. I think this was the sixth
school year possibly that I've been out. of the
classroom, fifth or sixth, that I've been out
of the classroom and home with my kids and working
my own businesses. So that's a little bit about
my backstory with education. Yeah, that's so
amazing. And you were an elementary school teacher,
right? Yes. So I was licensed K through six,
and I only ever taught fourth grade. I taught
fourth grade at a very small charter school.
My first school year, it was in Brooklyn Park,
so it was very... low income, high needs situation,
which did not bother me at all. It was, it was
fun. It was, I love the kids. I love the staff.
And then I moved to the public district a year
after that and worked in the public district
for two years and the pay was better, but the
requirements were very different, and that was
a very eye -opening experience for me. Yeah,
definitely a lot of my listeners are educators
for sure, either current or previous, and I always
am interested just because one of the guests
that I had on wrote a book about just kind of
leaving education and what other opportunities
there are. And she had a checklist in there of
like, is it end of teacher fatigue, end of year
teacher fatigue, which all teachers have, or
is it time for a change? You know, and when I
was... contemplating this decision for a few
years now. I was like, oh, you know, all my colleagues
too would say, oh, you're just tired or oh, it's
just winter. This is how we always feel in winter.
And I was like, no, I just I feel different.
Like things that used to like my favorite class
that used to bring me joy is no longer even bringing
me joy. Right. And just the putting on an act
hour after hour each day. Can you speak to a
little bit of just like how you knew you know
especially so early that it was time for a change
like how it was it an intuition kind of feeling
or yeah so um my last school year was the year
of covid which was a psychotic year in itself
with a lot of changes and challenges and you
know a lot of navigating of situations that nobody
had ever been through before. So kind of just
prefacing with you know that was the situation
everyone was in and nobody really knew how to
deal with it or move forward or you know put
things in place to kind of help teachers in that
time I would say. And so actually the year that
I had left was like that spring we had been doing
distance learning for however, four months or
whatever it was, or a couple of months. And there
were just a couple of instances that really stuck
out to me that made my decision easier, I would
say, kind of pushed me over the ledge without
trying to be dramatic about it. And one of the
things that really bothered me a lot just throughout
that whole school year, honestly, and even, you
know, when we weren't distance learning and there
wasn't a pandemic, was kind of just this idea
that as a young person in the profession, you
were never trusted to know what you were doing.
And, and I don't know if that was just like my
specific situation or if it's more universally
across, you know, other schools, other districts,
but, and I understand the idea of checks and
balances, like you need to, you need to be observed
and you need to be able to grow and like all
those things. But the way that that all had kind
of happened, you know, being judged by people,
you know, who have power, who aren't teachers
in the classroom was something that really didn't
make sense to me, just like in general. And I
didn't like that. That was what was happening
was like the person who's in charge of my bonuses
and the person who's giving me a score on a,
on an observation has really doesn't know what
they're talking about when they're you know,
writing those reports and things like that. So
that was one thing that I really did not like.
And then another thing is just, I really liked
and was taught in school, which I feel like a
lot of us are taught when you're going to school
for education is to meet the needs of the students.
Like that to me is like, what should be your
number one goal as a teacher. And I feel like
that is very much turned away from in the public
education world in the idea that you're supposed
to be teaching to a cookie cutter you know a
cookie cutter different um what's the word i'm
looking for is um It's like we're not manufacturing
widgets that are all the same. You're literally
dealing with 25 kids who each have individual
needs. There's no one -size -fits -all for that.
Correct. Yeah. And so just the idea that, okay,
you have to teach this same curriculum the same
way. You have to say these same things and give
these same tests. And if you don't... you get
slapped on the wrist for it and you get, you
know, I guess reprimanded, but like, you know,
not again, not trying to be right, but like you
get reprimanded for it, especially in those first
three years that you're teaching because you're
probationary. So you can't, you know, you have
no flexibility. You have no, um, you know, like
intuitive mind thinking for yourself as a teacher.
And also I just feel like coming from that first
year where I was at a charter school and had
a lot more freedom to do what I knew my students
were capable of, or change courses and do what
they needed for that time period. And having
that flexibility and then moving to the public
district that didn't have that, where you were
actually, I guess, encouraged not to do that,
did not make sense to me morally. didn't feel
good about that. And I would say, you know, growing
up, one of the reasons I wanted to be a teacher
is because I wanted to help kids be successful
adults. Like that was that's another goal of
mine that like I always had. And when you get
again, like kind of reprimanded for doing certain
things that are helping them be more successful,
but necessarily aren't to the typical standards
for what you're supposed to stick to. Again,
you just get you get reprimanded and I didn't
personally feel like that was doing the kids
justice. And it wasn't something that sat well
with me. And so that kind of just, there were
instances like that, that kind of just kept coming
up over, over throughout the school year. And
then at the end of the year, it was my third
year, you know, teaching, but it was only my
second year in the public school district. So
essentially, I was still probationary. I still
had to, you know, fight for my job again for
the next year. I had been in the same position
in the same grade at the same school for two
years. And the principal had said that I was
essentially going to have to interview against
the other younger teacher who was in the district.
She was there one year after me. So I had one
year of seniority on her in our same positions
and she wasn't Choosing to pick either of us,
we had to interview against each other to go
back. Whoa. Yeah. And it was that moment I looked
at Sam and I said, I don't want to do that. I
was like, I don't want to be a part of that at
all. Wow. That's crazy. And just, I'm laughing
because of the teacher shortage now. They'd be
begging people to be like, please stay, please
stay. Wow. For me, I was like, I've been here
for a whole extra year. Not like, not anything
bad about her. She was great. She was fun to
work with. She was, you know, we enjoyed each
other. We're still friends now, actually, and
we still see each other now. And I just didn't
like that I was being put in that situation.
And it really left a bad taste in my mouth. And
so I got on, it was Zoom meetings again, because
it was COVID. So I got on my Zoom meeting with
the principal and I said, you know what, like,
actually, I'm going to choose not to reapply.
I said, I will sub in the building, because I
have no problem with the building or, you know,
the relationships that I had formed and with
a lot of the teachers in that building. And I
was like, I'll sub if I want to, but I'm going
to kind of try to figure it out on my own. And
that was kind of my my push out the door and
decision to make a different future, I guess.
Yeah. And so many things you said I can relate
to. I mean, just long story short, the public
education system in the last few years. it's
been really eye -opening to me, some of the things
that are having to happen, and I'll just leave
it at that. But then also, just how the universe
gives you kind of a strong nudge, right? Like,
had you felt better in the situation, had that
not happened to you, you know, you may have stayed
longer, but now when you look back, you're like,
thank goodness. It happened that way, right?
And it's just so strange how life works, definitely.
The number of things that I have had happen to
me this year, my significant other always says,
you know, last year, if you would have resigned,
you probably would have felt like 50 -50. You
know, kind of, and I was, I was torn. And this
year, 100%. The things that have happened, I'm
like, yep. It's kind of like when you get that
idea and it just like... burrows into your brain
and keeps like coming back and coming back and
coming back. But then once you make that decision,
I feel like you can kind of free yourself to
fully embrace that idea. And that I like again,
like you said, that's when I like kind of turns
out like 100 % like this is the right decision.
Yeah. And I, you know, I made that decision because
I had been talking about it and I made it kind
of late fall. So it's been a long like you know
like knowing that I was gonna leave but once
I made that decision I was like You have to be
almost like two feet into the next chapter so
that you can devote yourself to that because
that was a whole building, rebuilding too. And
that's what I kind of want to ask you next is
it seems like it was sort of abrupt. I mean,
you weren't like four years kind of planning
that you were going to be leaving. And so how
did that work? You didn't have kids at the time,
right? So how did your transition work? Yeah,
so, um, you know, at the time I was still running
my beach body business and it was interesting
because I at that point had hit the amount of
success where my income that I was bringing in
from that was actually matching my teacher's
salary. And so like, again, like it was great.
We were actually wedding planning. We had weren't
even married yet. We were getting married that
following fall from that spring. So, um, you
know, I told my husband, I was like, this is
what we can do. And if I had more time to devote
to building my own business, who knows where
that could continue to go. And I said, I know
it's not steady income that you can always rely
on, but I was like, I still can sub. I can sub
a little bit. And so I did end up doing that.
Actually, we had our wedding in the fall. And
then throughout that next school year, I actually
got pregnant with our daughter a month after
our wedding. And so I was pregnant for that whole
next winter to spring. summer and I did sub quite
a bit. I was a medical sub for a student for
I think like five or six weeks straight at like
the end of that school year and so I always knew
that that was an option and I always knew that
okay let's say I try this for a year and it doesn't
work out I can go back to education and that's
okay and like maybe I just needed a break and
whatever so I knew I always had options and I
tried to just be open to those options and be
like okay like I'm making this decision and I'll
figure out how to make it work and I'll do what
I need to do to make it work and so it really
yeah it wasn't like a thought out long time thought
out plan it was more okay like I'm gonna make
this jump I had this summer because obviously
like you paid through the summer like we had
a 12 you know 12 month pay and so I was paid
through the summer so I could kind of you know
figure out what my my business routine was going
to be, what that was going to look like if I
needed to get. I think I also reffed volleyball
that summer just like as like extra cash, you
know. And I always knew there was going to be
stuff that would come up that I could do if needed
and that I would figure it out and make it work.
And obviously your future husband, now husband,
was supportive in the situation. But then, as
some of my listeners will know, Beachbody changed
and had you started another stream of income
before that change or did the change spark you
to look into other directions? So interesting
that you asked that also kind of goes into new
I know one of the things that we'll probably
talk about is any sort of like mentors that were
You know helpful and I will say so I want to
say it was almost Probably a year and a half
before Body had announced that they were closing
the partner opportunity and that chapter was
done. One of my mentors had said, I've been in
this business for a long time. I just don't have
a good feeling about this. And she knew it would
impact me a lot because that was my only income
at the time. We had just moved to our new house.
six months prior to that. So like our mortgage
was more like, you know, we had all these other
things going on and she knew that that change
would impact me if that were to be like how things
went down, you know, and so about a year and
a half before it actually happened that she had
told a lot of her leaders who she knew this decision
would impact a lot. She said, you know, I just
like don't foresee these decisions that they're
making in the company at this time to be leading
somewhere positive and if I were you, I would
start kind of looking at other income opportunities,
whatever that looks like for you. And it's interesting
because maybe like a month or two after she had
said that, I had been following a guy on Instagram
who had done a training for our team many years
prior, and he had posted looking for a virtual
assistant. And he just posted on a story, you
know, apply at the link, whatever. And I was
like, God, like, I feel like that's something
that I would be really good at because it would
use a lot of the skills that I really enjoy.
And like, I'm a super type A organized planners
list, like all that kind of stuff is like my
jam and what I like how I function personally.
And so when he posted that, I was like, Oh, I've
never thought about doing that. But like, I think
that'd be an awesome option. It would be something
that would really fit my person and like my skill
set. And so I, on a whim applied. I had no training.
I had no experience, literally nothing. And they
always say like, don't do that. And I'm like,
no, like throw your hat in the ring, figure it
out. Like, you know? Um, so I randomly applied.
I got a first round interview and then I got
a second round interview and then found out in
I think it was early February of 2023 that I
had gotten the position. And it was part -time.
It was 20 hours a week. And I was like, this
is great. This will be perfect for this period
of time, because I still have my thriving body
business at that time. I have this other now
20 hour a week thing that was going on. And our
daughter at the time was about a year and a half
old. So we had a good routine with her. We weren't
in the newborn trenches or anything like that.
So that's where it started. And I got hired by
him and then he actually opened the door to a
second client of mine about a year and a half
ago now. So it kind of just snowballed from there.
And now I'm like, I have all these people who
want this service that... I don't have the hours
for it anymore. So it's just, it's interesting
to see how that has grown and how my own confidence
in that space has grown because of the experience
that men have accumulated. But it's interesting
how, you know, all these connections make sense
because if I wouldn't have been doing body, I
never would have seen his posts. I never would
have followed him. I never would have seen his
posts. I never would have applied. So it's interesting
and now like that is my full -time job and that's
what I do and then when body closed its doors
because then you know by that point I had grown
that to my virtual assistant job to be my full
-time income and body was just extra which it
felt really good honestly to just have that be
extra and not be my full -time job and so I was
like well you know I'd really like to continue
having extra income beside my full -time income
because Who doesn't want more money coming into
their household, right? Like that's, that's always
a good thing. And so, um, actually previous still
to body closing, I had, um, been using a company,
a brand that I had used for my skincare and I'd
switched to, and that's kind of how then I ended
up partnering with Hue and Grace was I had already
been using this stuff and loving this stuff and
then, you know, body closed its doors and then
I could kind of pivot. on that front, too, to
a different stream of income. So that's a long
story. Yeah, no, it's great because, again, a
big thing is people think that they have to have
their next five -year plan all figured out. And
you are a living, breathing example of, like,
I... took a risk. I had something. I knew I had
skills. I knew I could sub, right? But you couldn't
have seen three years, five years down the road
that this is what you would be doing, right?
And so sometimes it is sort of that blind leap
of faith and thinking positively. And I have
said on this show many times that every day is
a job interview, whether you realize it or not.
And that's exactly what has happened for you
at your first VA job. You obviously did so well
that he recommended you to somebody else, right?
Who recommends you to somebody else. And now
you're like, ah, I can't keep up. And that's
just, I think, another important reminder for
people, too. And it's what I really like, too,
and was always envious of you. And really, a
lot of your messaging from following you for
so long helped me in my decision. because you
were like I'm just I believe in the products
that I'm sharing and I just put myself out there
and I'm just living my life and it's all going
well and I'm like yeah I can do that right so
a lot of the things that you talk about liking
in your transition like time freedom and you
have little ones I have one coming to your state
to go to college my only daughter so I wanted
I kind of wanted it to look different in this
chapter too. I mean, can you speak to sort of
how that feels? I know you mentioned it a lot
on social media, but for those who don't follow
you, just the blessings that that has brought
compared to, I mean, teaching is nice in a way
when you have kids because you do have the...
holidays and you do have the summers. But every
Friday you're burnt out. I know I'm grading papers,
lesson planning. And so can you just speak to
a little bit more about like the difference in
your day to day, what it allows you to do? Yeah,
I will say that is probably my favorite perk.
And like you said, I do talk about it a lot because
it is my favorite perk. you know, what I've built,
especially when my kids are young, but I can
also, like you said, like see it as your kids
get older to have the flexibility to go to the
sports games, to, you know, move your kid into
college, to be able to. have that freedom. And
I would say, you know, for me, and this is a
memory that is burned into my brain, I will never
forget it. It was the summer before I was starting
my first year teaching, I was working at a summer
camp. As a lot of teachers do, they do, you know,
the summer latch keys or the summer fun programs
or whatever. And so I was doing that. And I was
teaching kindergartners at the time. And I got
a text message that my grandfather, who we call
Pappy, he was my favorite person that I've pretty
much ever had in my life. Like he's, he had every
fun childhood memory for me and involved him.
And he had to have a quadruple bypass and was
in the hospital. And I had to stay up late and
make sub plans and call KidStop and tell them
that I needed to go to Duluth and I needed to,
I had a lot of extra stress. Not only was I stressed
about what was happening to my family, but I
was stressed about then having all these added
things that I had to do before I could go and
be there for my family. And at that time then
not only was I just prepping for someone to be
there, but I was also then again, like not getting
paid because I was out, you know, I was out doing
what I needed to do to be with my family. And
I luckily got the time off to go do that. I prepped
for someone else to be there for me and got to
go and be up there for a day. And luckily the
procedure went well and all of that. And that
was great. He ended up passing away earlier this
year from just a lot of health complications
later on. But I mean, this was like now seven
or eight years ago. So at that time, he had pulled
through that and made it through that. remember
thinking, I don't love the fact that I have to.
not only ask people for time off, but plan for
someone to be there while I'm gone. Like I'm
doing the work for them and I'm still gone. And
you know, like, like I, I just did not like that
whole situation. And so from that time and then,
you know, other random things that had come up
over the years that I was in teaching, um, I
don't know if you remember the beach body cruises,
but I had to go or I got to go on the cruise.
I'd earned the cruise. I was so excited. It was
not during spring break. And as a teacher, you
get three years, three days of PTO per year.
And the cruise was five days long. So I decided
to go on the cruise because I wanted the life
experience. I love to travel. That was like a
big thing that meant a lot to me. And I left
on the cruise, prepped all the subplans for the
five days I was going to be on. I had to do dock
days for the last two days that I was gone out
of those five days. I could not use my sick time.
I hadn't been sick a single day that whole school
year. I had 11 sick days in the bank. I couldn't
use either of them for those last two days of
that week. And out of my paycheck that week,
over that pay period, my paycheck was normally
$1 ,100 every two weeks. I had been docked $800
of pay. for those two days that I was gone. So
my paycheck that week was $300 and I had to pay
$800 to cover my sub for those two days because
they did not fit into the PTO. And I had to pay
my health insurance those two days because they
did not fit into the PTO. Oh my word. And so
those two instances made me relish the time freedom
that I have now to be able to do what works on
our schedule to be able to say yes to the random
lunch dates with my friends who I don't get to
see very often, to be able to drop things to
go to Duluth for the day and see a grandparent,
see a family member, be able to go be other places
for other people or for my children at the drop
of a hat. I can, I have the flexibility to do
that and it has meant the world to me. And I
think it's really changed a lot of how I view
relationships with people because I have been
able to pour more of myself into growing those
relationships with other friends, family members,
and my kids, which to me is worth everything,
is worth everything, would make me make that
decision 10 times over and over again. So. That's
kind of a long one. And that part of your life
is really where I was like, it's possible. Like
you you I do not have to be stuck in four walls
of a classroom. I did this for 29 years I had
an amazing career I need other things out of
this next chapter and You just have to trust
that it's gonna work out not that it's not scary
not that it's not bittersweet, right? There's
all the emotions that come with it But I so appreciate
you sharing that because I think a lot of people
are looking for Just especially you don't want
to get to the end of your life and think oh I
regret not being able to do this. I regret not
being able to spend more time, you know, or when
you're in the, in the moment, right? Like I just
want to be able to take this five day cruise
that I earned and, you know, can't people just
support me and like make it work? So I completely
relate to what you're saying. I think what we'll
do here is we'll give Sammy a little bit of a
break to catch her breath. She's been telling
us so much about her life. And then when we come
back, we will chat a little bit more and get
to hear It is time for Ask the Teacher Anything.
And since I'm in the last week, days, hours,
minutes of being a teacher, the most common question
I'm getting this week is, how are you feeling
in the last week of teaching? And, you know,
it's like with any big event in life. It's surreal.
It doesn't hit you right immediately. I mean,
looking at an empty classroom and saying goodbye,
you know, it just feels like, whose life is this?
I've prepared obviously for so long for this
that, you know, it feels right. I have some trepidation.
I'm already starting to get anxious, you know,
for what's going to be next and what it's going
to look like. So I'm really going to have to
force myself to just enjoy and really, you know,
trying to keep the connections that are important
with, you know, from my previous chapter that
are important to me trying to keep those connections
alive. Because, you know, those those people
become a part of your daily life, like eating
lunch with the same people and knowing you're
going to see the same faces every day. So yeah,
you know, that's kind of the things that I'm
thinking about. And, you know, just thinking
about you know, the last questions that I got
about next year's yearbook this year and watching
the person move into my room and it's just all
bittersweet. I know it's right, but it's still
hard. And, you know. just there's so much unknown
and I just don't do great with unknown but I
know that it's time and and I'm going to try
to follow all of what I preach in the next chapter
so thank you I guess maybe follow me on social
media in the next month or two and I start to
process it we'll see what happens the second
question are what are your upcoming camping trips
so so talking about the next chapter right so
I think I had mentioned that we had planned all
close in Wisconsin trips for the summer. So we
have one more trip in June. We're staying at
a place in the Dells. We have a lot of favorite
restaurants up there. And of course, Devils Lake.
And then last time we rented a jet ski, which
is really fun. So we're doing that in June. In
July, we're going to Governor Dodge State Park,
which we did. camp tent there before. Now we're
taking the Lunar Rover. In August, we are going
to Door County, one of our favorite places. And
then in September, we are going to Kohler Andre,
which I've never been to, but have heard it's
really beautiful. So, you know, buying this camper,
kind of the promise was we were going to use
it once a month. and, you know, get the feel
for it, see how it goes. So those are our upcoming
trips with the camper. We always, if you follow
me, you know that we're tourists in our own state.
We're always doing a lot of city hopping. I definitely
want to get back to a pond, possibly Lake Geneva,
possibly Port Washington just for like a day
trip. So lots of fun stuff coming up. Thank you
so much for asking. Okay, we are back from break
and I mean I feel like Sammy has already packed
multiple lessons into this episode because she's
so forthright about sharing her journey and it's
so helpful again if you don't follow her already
on social media I'll put some links in the show
notes for you but she's just very authentic and
I've just always really appreciated that about
her but I want to hear because I know she's a
very prepared and definitely still has that little
bit of teacher in her even though she's not in
a classroom she still teaches people things every
day so I'm eager to hear all about her lesson
that she has for us today so you are up Sammy
Yes. So I feel like this sometimes for people
can be very much so easier said than done. But,
you know, I really encourage people and if you're
listening, I encourage you to think about the
things in your life that are making you feel
stuck or unfulfilled or that you'd like to change
and understand that you do have the power to
change them. Even if you're someone who doesn't
feel like you maybe do, or you don't feel like
there's an opportunity out there for you. And
knowing that you don't have to stay stuck in
the things that aren't bringing you joy, aren't
showing you growth, aren't bringing you forward,
aren't helping you hit the goals that you have,
you know, for your personal life, for your family,
that that feeling is not normal. I feel like
we normalize that feeling of feeling stuck because
everyone feels that way or this is just how it
is or this is just how it's supposed to feel
and you don't have to play to that narrative.
You can create your own narrative and I feel
like that's something that, you know, I've proven,
you know, multiple times throughout this entrepreneur
season of life and having to pivot and I think
you know, doing the work on yourself and on your
mental health and on your physical health can
really help you kind of open up the door to understanding
that you don't have to adhere to what other people
might deem as normal or feelings that might feel
like you're not doing what you should be doing
and listen to that intuition and take action
to do something about it. Yeah, that's really,
it really speaks to me because we were chatting
a little bit about this previously, but When
you get to this stage in teaching where people
are so close to retirement, everybody's saying
like, I just need to hold on for this many years.
And I definitely felt like guilt or like, what
is wrong with me that I can't make it? Like I
literally can't hold on. I am not myself. I always
promised myself. Because when I was a young teacher
and I saw people close to retirement, basically
putting their feet up and just like not caring
anymore, which I totally get, I'm not as invested
as I used to be in teaching. I don't like feeling
like that. I promised myself I would walk away.
Even if it meant leaving some of my pension money
on the table, I'm walking away with no insurance
benefits. It's terrifying, as a single mother
especially. But I made that promise to myself
that that is not the legacy. I'm so proud of
my career. I'm not proud of this last year of
teaching, even though I gave it everything I
still had. It was not what I would say was typical
of me as a teacher. that's the hardest thing,
right? Is like staying true to yourself and not
listening to those messages of everyone like,
well, this is what I'm doing or this is what
teachers do. We just wait it out. And I'm like,
well, that's not my story. That's not my narrative.
But it's hard, right? It is so hard. And I would
say like at the beginning, I felt a lot of guilt
too, because I was so young and people are like,
oh, you didn't even give it five years. You didn't,
you know, or, you know, you went to school for
four years for that. You paid for a degree for
that. Now you're not even using it. Now you don't
even have like an active teacher license anymore,
you know, all these things. And I feel like that's
just people's own limiting beliefs or, you know,
they don't understand that there might be more
out there for you. And I think it's really important
that you do the things that you need to do to
care for yourself. And that's so much easier
said than done, especially I feel like moms,
we don't feel like we can do some of those things
for ourselves to help ourselves feel like the
actual version of ourselves that we're supposed
to be, because it's clouded by all of these other
things that are going on. And I think... That
was something that very early on I just got rid
of. I'm like, I don't want to feel miserable.
I don't have to feel miserable. Like I can do
something about it. I can make this change. I
can, you know, change the... different things
that I'm doing in my life change the environments
that I'm in because I know there's always that
saying about like plants like in their environments
and you know they thrive or they don't and it
has to do with their environments that they're
in and we I would say are very much the same
way if you are not in good environments not only
you know in your home with your family with your
relationships but your profession is part of
that your job that you go to every day is part
of that and don't be don't feel like you have
to stay miserable. Please don't. Yeah, I love
that. That's interesting because I'm looking
at the teaching thing from the end of the career
spectrum, but there's definitely people I've
talked to as listeners of this show who have
said, but I have this degree and I'm still paying
off student loans and I'm going to switch. But
if you think about it, you had to start there,
right? You had to have that experience in order
for it to lead you to this experience and the
life that you wanted, right? It may not have
worked out this way had you not done it. And
like, you are making a promise to yourself. We
tell students like, change your major, change
your degree, do what's right for you, right?
This is the same kind of thing. Why, oh, I'm
gonna be miserable for 10 years so that I feel
like I got. my degree's worth, right, out of
it. But I just look at everything as a stepping
stone, right? It's not like you were saying,
well, I'm never going to work again. And even
if you did, so what? You tried it. You got the
degree. You can always, as you said, pivot. And
I love that because especially in my generation,
it was you become a teacher and you stay a teacher
your whole life. And now that is just not how
our society works. We didn't have entrepreneurs
and multiple streams of income. And these are
new concepts, I think, for a lot of people too.
And if they, you know, didn't see their parents
do it or they're not familiar with it. It's maybe
a little bit even more unsettling to them. But
I think you just have to open your eyes. And
I always tell people follow. If you're on social
media, follow people whose lives you admire.
And if that means I follow a lot of women who
are in their 60s and 70s who are super fit and
active, and that's what I want to be, right?
I follow people who have time freedom and who
aren't afraid to take risks so that they can
live a happy, fulfilled life. And so, right,
then that's where you learn about how to get
creative and how to make that happen. Yep. Yeah.
Is there anything else that you want to share
with us today? You've shared so many amazing
messages. And like I said, she's just so brave
and so herself. I mean, what you see is what
you get. This is Sammy. And I encourage you.
to follow her if you're not already. She's just
such a breath of fresh air and she has the cutest
children as well. And obviously you must have
a very supportive spouse too and truly if I wasn't
in the relationship that I'm in now someone who
just I think gets it and now also left a high
-paying corporate job to seek some of the things
that we're talking about I think that's really
helpful too. Yeah. And he, he really is like,
we have always had that kind of relationship.
I mean, even when we were young, cause we started
dating when I was 20 years old. Um, and so we've
been together a very long time and we've kind
of always ebbed and flowed through kind of supporting
each other through the different things that
we're doing. Um, you know, he used to compete
in weightlifting and, you know, I would support
him in that. And he went and got his back and
got his masters. Um, he's actually also a teacher
and it's still a teacher. Um, and now you're
supporting him in his new volleyball coaching
venture. Yeah. So like we kind of always just
like trade off and obviously like I never would
have made that decision without talking with
him before that. Um, but I think too, you know,
he is on the same page with me as far as, you
know, we all function as better versions of ourselves
when we are. you know, at peace with the things
we're doing and we feel supported and we feel
that our environments are helping us to grow
and learn and develop positively. And I think
he saw the opposite of that, you know, when I
was going through all the different things I
was going through at that last school year. And
I think that helped him kind of, you know, be
super supportive in that decision. And I'm forever
grateful for him in the relationship that we
have. And I think it just shows kind of like
our teammate mentality for each other quite a
bit. It's always been that way where we've always
just, you know, talked about it and then I'm
like, okay, what do you need me to do? Like,
what do we need to do? So. That's really special
and unique. And I think, too, like, he's getting
the best version of his wife. Your kids are getting
the best version of you, right? And that just
makes for a happier household in general. Not
that there aren't tough days, right? But it is.
It's the whole show. And I think, too, like,
you have to be comfortable communicating that.
Like, you had to say to him before you were even
married, like, I'm... thinking about making this
major change, which we maybe didn't anticipate.
And I think that's important too, for people
to, you have to share that. Otherwise you might
be secretly harboring that and continuing on
in this, you know, job you don't want to be in.
So I just admire all of, all of so many things
about you and so appreciate that you could share
all of these helpful parts of your life with
my listeners today. And I'm sure you'll be gaining
some new followers as a result. Yes, come on,
come on. Obviously, like I, and I kind of shared
this with you before too, but I'm very open to
questions. Like if there are questions that people
have that you feel free to, you know, send me
a message and I will share, share whatever I
can share at that point. Okay. Thank you so much
for being here, Sammy. That's a wrap on today's
conversation. I hope Sammy's story reminds you
that you're never stuck and the life you imagine
is possible even if it looks different than you
first planned. If this episode gave you a little
spark of courage or clarity, share it with a
friend who might need to hear it too. I do want
to share with you that I have come to a decision
about the podcast as I enter into this next chapter.
I feel like one more solo episode and then I'm
going to close season one of Life's Next Lesson
Plan podcast and decide if I would like to do
a season two. in the next chapter of my life.
First, I would like to just take some time to
decompress a little bit. I would like to get
my feet under me in my new position and my new
empty nest life and just kind of see how I'm
feeling. I don't want to be forced into anything.
I mean, I made this decision to have more freedom
and to craft the life that I want. And so I feel
like this will be a nice natural ending. I'm
so happy that I was able to get Sammy on the
podcast for all the reasons I shared today. And
then I will have some final thoughts for you
next week in my last solo episode. I'll still
be on social media on Instagram and Facebook
at life's next lesson plan. And I'm hoping to
now that I'll have a little bit more time, maybe
play around with my YouTube channel a little
bit more. I can't believe I'm saying that because
I stole reluctantly set that up. But now it's
just kind of like a no pressure place that I
could kind of explore and you know still keep
up my journalistic skills without podcasting
in the meantime. So definitely if you want to
keep up with my journey social media and YouTube
would be a good place to follow me. I hope this
episode gave you a little spark of courage or
clarity, or you just enjoyed listening to Sammy.
She's such a bright light. I love following her.
As always, just keep learning, keep listening
to yourself, and don't be afraid to write that
next lesson plan. We'll see you next week for
one last time.