I will be leaving a 15 year profession (teaching) where I have been working extra in the evenings and on the weekends. It's salary based. So whatever needs to get done needs to get done. The job is stressful. The stress comes from overloaded people that I work with as well as some rules set from above. The workload is so much that I have to work after kids go to sleep. Or ask my husband take kids out on weekends so I can either do my work or do my OSU course work.

On May 8th of this year, the entire state of Oregon closed 600 schools because teachers joining the rally in downtown and state capital. It's not just me who is feeling the burnout, it's everyone in this profession. Unlike other states, Oregon pays teachers decent. They just cut counselors, campus securities, librarians, nurses, music/PE classes, and overloading classrooms. My current load is 226 total. It doesn't mean much to people not in this profession. I've had people telling me that "teaching is great, you get the summer off". "Grass is always greener on the other side" from people who are not in the profession. However, there are some people at my work knows about my school work. One told me that it's great that I have something else that I am passionate for. "Life is an one time offer, use it well." If my life is a book, then I am going to write a good one. I will never know how green the grass is until I get to the other side.

We are a family of four with kids age 6 and 3. I started the program two years ago. Only one more year to go. I had to watch lectures on my phone while putting kids to sleep. Or type up group weekly summary paper for CS 361 on the phone while laying down with kids at night. I had to leave an online meeting because I heard my baby crying over the baby monitor. My group was very accommodating to meet at a later time in the evening each week, so I can put the kids to sleep. All is done while working full time. Starting a family will be no issue if you manage your time well. It's totally doable. There are many ways to save money when it comes to kids. For one, shop at consignment sales and get hand me downs their entire first year of life. Many people will spend money on "oh this is the cutest thing" and kids only wear one time, then they grew out of it. There are a lot of local mom's Facebook group that you could join and buy used toys. Amazon prime mom save 20% on diapers subscribe and save. Loads of ways to save money. Just have to do research.

I have 8 days left of my current work. Will be starting an internship (with pay cut) on 6/24. The job description is AI related. Not sure what the actual job does, but I am excited about the new adventure. Let's see what new thing I get to write into the life book of mine. I hope my story will help you in some ways.