I threw out my lesson plans and let my AP students drive the learning. Here's what happened when I stopped teaching from fear and started teaching from confidence—just like baking without a box.
When Your Love Story Doesn’t Look Like Everyone Else’s
My fairy tale ended, my faith wavered, but love didn't disappear—it just showed up in places I never expected. Sometimes the best love lives are the ones that don't fit the mold.
The Hurricane That Never Came and the Storm I’m Still Fighting
We prepared for Florence, but she missed us. Meanwhile, I'm still battling the real storm—learning to live instead of just working to survive. Sometimes silver linings come with friends.
What Hurricane Florence Taught Me About Teaching and Heartbreak
As I prepared for a literal storm, I realized I was still weathering the figurative one called Charming. Here's what teaching idioms taught me about surviving both.
Starting Over at a New School: When Change Brings Fresh Perspective
After calling off my wedding and leaving my old school, I'm starting fresh at a new campus. Here's what I learned from a bright-eyed new teacher about approaching life with renewed enthusiasm.
When Life Unravels, Keep Writing: What My Front Porch Taught Me About Starting Over
After my engagement ended and my teaching world shifted, I almost stopped writing. Here's why showing up to the blank page—even when you're broken—is the most important thing you can do.
How New Teacher Orientation Opened My Eyes to Who I Really Am
They handed us sunglasses as a symbol of our bright future, but the real vision came from seeing myself through my colleagues' eyes. Sometimes strangers become mirrors.
When Friendship Becomes Judgment: Learning to Love Without Fixing
I lost my best friend because I couldn't love her without trying to change her. Here's what the ocean taught me about friendship, boundaries, and letting people be themselves.
You Can’t Change Yesterday, But You Can Grow Today: Kitchen Lessons in Life
This summer I traded gardening for cooking and learned to fix my own car. Sometimes wisdom comes from trying new things and accepting that you can't be better yesterday—only better today.
When You Can’t Write Your Own Truth: Living Through What You Can’t Say
Some stories are too raw, too complicated to tell publicly. Here's what I learned about truth, lies, and the weight of secrets during my summer of silence.
Writer's Growth 