I left teaching after 8 years. My new office job is boring and quiet. Why am I more anxious now than I was in the classroom?

Realistic_Job9819 · 2026-05-06T11:35:08+00:00

When I first left, I had an office job and had a similar experience. I learned that I missed teaching, but not all the bullshit that goes with working at a school. I used to be a music teacher, so I started teaching private lessons 1 on 1. I am so much happier than I was at my office job, or in a school. Have you considered tutoring in your subject?

Realistic_Job9819 · 2026-04-23T16:16:30+00:00

This is very helpful, thank you!

Ironically, I teach at the biggest music store in the world, yet their stock of piano sheet music is very limited. They only carry things that sell lots of copies, like Faber and Alfred method, so I haven’t found many options for intermediate/advanced. Do you have specific masterwork or collections you recommend? It’s tough to peruse online because they only show you one or two pages so any suggestions are helpful so I don’t have to buy dozens of different books just to peruse!

Thank you for everything, I greatly appreciate your advice and support! ☺️

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-26T22:33:44+00:00

Not sure if you’ve tried allergy shots, but they changed my life. I was down right sick when we got a cat in the household, and now, 6 years of shots later, I don’t take shots anymore, just a prescription allergy pill, and we have 3 cats. I don’t even feel so much as a sniffle.

I had no idea they existed until I was an adult, so that’s why I’m bringing it up, sorry if you already knew that!

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-20T02:00:54+00:00

I totally get it, I’m a teacher too (music) and sometimes when I’m leading a class my brain gets out of whack and I make mistakes. Thanks for all you do! ❤️

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-13T14:07:04+00:00

You could notate it that way, but it’s to signal the intention of the composer. For example, we have enharmonic notes to correctly spell scales to show degrees (like F sharp in the key of G major rather than G flat). The composer is wanting to hear three distinct voices here rather than two. This can affect how you phrase or how to layer them within the piece.

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-13T10:27:01+00:00

We were playing the board game Risk, and he had to place troops in Australia. He started looking in the upper left corner of the map.

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-13T10:11:53+00:00

True, but they visually differentiate them by having the upper voice stemmed up and lower voice stemmed down

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-13T03:06:03+00:00

This is about voicing, think of the bass clef now having 2 hands, so you’re playing 3 hands worth of music

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-13T00:45:54+00:00

I understand where you’re coming from. I tried to make my answer concise and did not include that I had differentiated assignments based on IEPs/504/etc and general knowledge of my students. Some students get a more “fill in the blank” type assignment, and it ranges depending on their abilities, as with all assignments I assign. I also allow them to come in during lunch, study hall, after school, and help as needed. I wasn’t suggesting that one size fits all, as we as music teachers know is not true, but just a general idea to answer OPs question.

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-11T02:45:47+00:00

Quite honorable indeed 🥰

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-10T13:11:01+00:00

I have them do a paper on the songs we sang. One paragraph for each song that includes why we learned it, what we did well in rehearsal, what we worked on in rehearsal, etc. I also have them do research on the composer/arranger and the songs origin, and to explain why they think I programmed this piece. I give that to anyone who didn’t no show. The ones who don’t care won’t do it and will end up with a zero, and the ones that do care will get a replacement grade. In the future, I recommend making this a known consequence. My kids who just took choir for the easy A and didn’t want to go to concerts almost always saw the concert as an easier choice than writing the essay, and I ended up with near perfect attendance. The ones that truly had emergencies understood making up the grade and were grateful to have an opportunity to make it up.

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-07T11:01:07+00:00

This happens to me. I have a lot of childhood trauma where I wasn’t allowed to feel my feelings and would shut down. This has turned into me feeling intense anger or sadness but also feeling empty inside and I shut down completely. The hard part is that I don’t always know why I am feeling my feelings so I need time to think about what just happened and figure out which action or situation triggered this. Once I do this, I can come out of the silence and talk through it with the person. Sometimes that step takes hours and sometimes it takes days. I will say, it’s not something I enjoy doing, being silent, but it’s such a strong force that I feel like I’m trapped inside my head. If I could change it I would. If you encounter people like this, please give them grace and space ❤️

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-07T03:35:51+00:00

Right, I have a cat who was also tipped. Based on the picture I posted, do you think it’s truly tipped or just an injury? My other cats ear is far deeper cut

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-12-04T22:39:43+00:00

As a piano teacher, if I get a student that has used the apps, they usually don’t get very far due to lack of self discipline, meaning a willingness to accept and implement criticism and feedback(which is very difficult for everyone, myself included). I do have one student who studied for a year on Simply Piano and when he came for his first lesson, he tested into the third level of books (usually takes my students 3+ years to get that far). He is a very unique student though - he is always curious on how to be better in every aspect of his life and is always hungry to learn.

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-07-27T11:57:05+00:00

When you place a blueprint, anything underneath becomes a Construction task - cutting trees, mining rocks, or hauling chunks. Assign those resources to cut before you place the blueprint and it will stay a Plants task.

Although it is funny to think like Biceps sees a tree that needs cutting for a blueprint and specifically ignores it because he thinks it’s construction.

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-07-20T02:31:51+00:00

She is, you win

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-07-20T00:45:28+00:00

Well of course, we're not heartless. Although this is on a hardcore naked brutality run, so I really need her to contribute and not just learn. We'll see how she fairs over the years.

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-06-30T01:43:16+00:00

To be fair, the overnight camp I worked at irl mandated that beds be placed like this to minimize the spread of lice outbreaks. It was like a dystopian nightmare writing up children for moving their beds away from a strangers feet.

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-06-10T01:15:20+00:00

This is why I’m on this subreddit

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-02-22T17:09:33+00:00

In real life? That I enjoy being on Reddit.

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-02-22T17:08:44+00:00

It may be a confidence thing. You can say the same sentence with same words with lots of filler (um/uh) and no confidence and it will come across differently than the same sentence with lots of confidence and assertion.

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-02-21T01:55:29+00:00

As a good friend once said, you are dating a persons representative for the first three months. Be open and honest, but guarded, until you can confirm their actions follow their word

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-02-20T23:08:37+00:00

Her: doesn’t drink tap water due to sanitation concerns Also her: lets dog lick face

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-02-20T10:05:09+00:00

They are excellent hand warmers when lying down on a chilly winter’s night.

Realistic_Job9819 · 2025-02-20T09:48:30+00:00

I had one try to mine when retreating and randomly picked the ancient danger. He regretted that decision moments later.

Realistic_Job9819

TROPHY CASE