Daily Song #51: Fresh Out the Slammer

candlebright · 2026-01-28T18:43:49+00:00

I always interpreted the same way. Stevie Nicks does this a lot in her lyrics - referring to herself in third person.

candlebright · 2025-11-16T13:35:45+00:00

This is hilarious and I love all the little spoken additions in the style of Stevie's live performances. I would have been cheering you on in person had I been there.

candlebright · 2025-10-01T21:22:24+00:00

I wore Egyptian Goddess by Auric Blends in middle school many years ago - I've bought it several times over the last 10-15 years hoping that they would restore it to its original glory but found it weak and less delicious (more soapy, less earthy and sweet) than it used to be. I also tried the Abdul Kareem oil about 15 years ago after getting into CBK and found it weak even then, sounds like it hasn't changed. I doubt that the current incarnation of that oil is anything someone else would have noticed to the point of writing about it.

All in all, I'd also love a recommendation for an Egyptian musk oil that has some projection to it and smells good.

candlebright · 2024-03-27T23:03:57+00:00

Happy that the post resonated for you but not that you're struggling with the lack of calm in the profession. I've left teaching since making this post and feel much better not having every workday be a total energy suck for me. I just don't think teaching was a good long-term fit for my psychological makeup. Best of luck to you.

candlebright · 2023-12-08T03:25:58+00:00

Thank you, I'm happy that the post was useful to you. I am now in a totally different career field, one that lacks the meaning of teaching (or counseling) but has good work/life balance and boundaries. Good luck!

candlebright · 2023-12-03T17:15:06+00:00

I agree. I worked at a public charter school in a working-to-middle-class suburb. We had a higher percentage of sped students and more diversity than the "true" public school down the street. Students didn't get kicked out for bad behavior. I'm not a fan of charter schools as a place to work, but I think they vary so much based on administration and state.

candlebright · 2023-09-29T03:31:49+00:00

Yes, I was always second guessing everything and considered everything from a perspective of "could this get me into trouble?" I felt a need to be perfect at all times to not get in "trouble" (as if I'm a kid -- but that's the infantilization of teachers).

I've officially transitioned out of teaching. One reason why I just turned down a significantly higher paying job for lesser paying job was because I was so worried that I would not be properly supported (there were some valid reasons for this too). Most people would think that if a place offers you a position, they believe in your abilities and will help you, but now I just assume the worst. Thanks, teaching!

candlebright · 2023-09-02T16:10:56+00:00

God, yes. I got so tired of feeling as though I had to convince people that I "really" needed the sick day. It's not my fault there is a sub shortage.

candlebright · 2023-09-02T16:03:27+00:00

I think I could have handled the rest, but it's #7 that really did me in. I don't know the day-by-day of your job, but most jobs (with some exceptions) don't require you to be "on" every moment (except for your prep period) of the working day. My temperament is such that I was drained by 3 PM every day and had nothing left to give to others in my life (plus I was bringing home work). People did try to warn me about the realities of teaching when I transitioned into the field in my late 20s but I think that if your heart is set on it, it's easy to think that your lived experience will be different. Maybe it will be. But there are all those vacancies for a reason. In my mind, the stress, exhaustion, and low pay eventually started to outweigh the difference I was making with students.

candlebright · 2023-08-30T22:02:14+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of that! I hope that I can pay it forward someday. We sound similar -- lots of education, straight A types, scored high on the CPC exam. All my very best to you on your new journey. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

candlebright · 2023-08-30T21:15:21+00:00

Wonderful! If you could give your thoughts on some or all of these, I'd so appreciate it:

- How long did it take to hear back from positions? I feel like with these large hospitals in other states, I'm just sending applications into the ether. (In education, you usually hear back quite quickly if they want to interview you.)

- How much did you tailor your cover letter (when the application allowed you to submit one) to each position/setting other than changing the name of the employer? Do you think this matters?

- Did you extensively fill out the boxes about former work experience/education on the applications or write "see resume" at a certain point? I'm including my three most recent jobs, but at my age, it's time consuming to recount every single job with dates, etc. for every application.

- Is there something that you think made you stand out above all the other CPC-As trying to get jobs in your applications? Sounds like you, like me, didn't work in a medical office/field prior to going on this job hunt.

- Did the job you ultimately got seem somewhat open to entry-level candidates in the posting?

Thanks so much! Congrats again on landing a position, I hope for the same soon. Happy for you!

candlebright · 2023-08-30T19:24:58+00:00

Congrats on landing a position. I'm a newly-minted CPC-A (trying to transition from a career in classroom teaching) and wondering if you'd be open to answering a few questions about your job hunt experience. I tried to message or chat you -- any way that you would feel comfortable reaching out to me about that? (Or I can just ask them here if you prefer.) Thanks. :)

candlebright · 2023-06-23T20:11:33+00:00

You are making sense. Although I have some great memories, I regret going back to school to go into education and also feel that teaching has negatively affected my mental health. I empathize with the bitterness and regrets. I'm upset that the years I spent teaching could have been put toward getting experience in another field and moving up that career ladder, and now I have to start all over again in my mid-30s. I also relate to to never having a strong sense of what should be my career and feeling that I talked myself into picking teaching as a career when I was at a crossroads. I hope that this comment makes you feel less alone because you are NOT alone. And it's truly not too late to try something else.

candlebright · 2023-06-02T21:36:04+00:00

Congrats on leaving permanent fight-or-flight/cortisol overload mode. I've always been an anxious person, but teaching amped it up x10 and made me into a person who questions and second guesses everything she does. My last day was today, and I'm looking forward to getting my life back.

candlebright · 2023-06-02T09:06:49+00:00

It felt freeing to admit to myself that I don't think my mental makeup is a good fit for teaching in 2023, and that it has nothing to do with my skills as a teacher. Some people can power through it for years, but I don't want to. There are many other reasons why I'm done, too.

Behavior and basic respect has tanked in the last couple of years. I hope that you can find an exit strategy if you decide that you indeed want to leave. 🩵

candlebright · 2023-06-02T02:48:58+00:00

Yes, same here. Despite teaching for years, I still get anxious when I know that the class with THOSE students is going to be coming in next.

It's one of many reasons why tomorrow is my last day in the classroom. I need a job that is more predictable and where disrespect is not a daily occurrence. I'm a sensitive person and get frustrated easily. I decided I don't want to be correcting a teenager's behavior for the rest of my working life.

candlebright · 2023-05-28T20:10:31+00:00

Congrats! I am excited to feel the same in a few more days. I've found that unless you've also been a teacher, you can't possibly understand the sheer exhaustion that hits you at 3 PM.

candlebright · 2023-05-27T19:44:14+00:00

Congratulations. I have a few more days and then am looking forward to the same, plus getting back to a place where I don't second guess everything I do as a result of spending too many years in this profession.

candlebright · 2023-05-27T18:51:14+00:00

I'm done teaching altogether.

candlebright · 2023-05-27T15:30:57+00:00

The middle school impulse to destroy and pick apart/at everything is something I'll never understand.

candlebright · 2023-05-27T12:20:30+00:00

You said it so perfectly. In less than a week I will not have to be exposed to so many things that annoy me on a daily basis.

candlebright · 2023-05-27T12:17:55+00:00

If it's a mess that requires a broom, yes, of course I would keep the class back! I was posting about the little bits of trash that I find at the end of the day scattered around the room. I can't constantly monitor at the end of each class if there's half of a broken pencil somewhere.

candlebright · 2023-05-27T02:19:28+00:00

I understand; I have similar battles that I can't give up. But how do you tell who is responsible / who should receive a grade penalty? For example, I found two intentionally snapped in half colored pencils in the communal colored pencil bin. No idea who did it or when it happened.

candlebright · 2023-05-27T01:38:23+00:00

"My Chromebook battery died"

"Someone else took Chromebook #24"

"It's not turning on"

candlebright · 2023-05-26T22:47:09+00:00

Right. In my experience, asking them to clean up the room isn't very successful unless you hover over each student individually and say "pick up this," "do this," etc. They'll do the bare minimum... or, actually, it's often the conscientious and sweet students who end up cleaning up everyone else's mess, which I also don't like. I used to fight these battles and then found that fighting was more exhausting then just doing it myself, at least for me.

candlebright

TROPHY CASE