Saying yes to writing

After thinking long and hard, I’ve decided to quit teaching and coaching.

I’ve threatened to quit before. Usually near the end of a semester when I’m worn down and wondering why I teach when it feels like a struggle. But then I need to pay the bills, so I take the next teaching gig.

I’ve been doing this for over ten years. There have been highlights—great students who I see out in the world and am proud to watch working. Some have stayed close years after they’re done, coming to markets or saying hello on the street. My students turned food sharing into a weekly tradition that became elaborate home-cooked meals. They made memes about class, so we created an official page. During the pandemic, our Discord became a hangout space where students would gather late into the night, then keep coming back for months after class ended. I just said yes to their ideas.

But it feels like more energy is required now. Classes are bigger, more online, and more separated. Students approach with more caution now—they want to know you’re there for them before they’ll fully engage. All of that is harder to do when there’s distance between us. And when too much time gets spent mediating emotions and relationships instead of actually teaching writing, it wears me down. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older too.

I only have so much energy to give.

They say where you put your energy is what you become, and after everything I wrote about in July, I think it’s time to redirect that energy to my writing. I’ve checked and rechecked the numbers and think it is possible.

Writing has always been my first choice. Teaching and coaching only happened because I wanted to help others avoid my same fate of not writing. But teaching and coaching became the safety net. The money. The path that paid the bills. Now I no longer want to put it off.

I plan to write a story a week and publish it on my website. Let people subscribe to read them. Take those stories to readings, gather them into books eventually. Tell my own stories.

It’s something I’ve put off for years, but I think it’s time to pursue it while I still can.

Until next time,
David

Since writing this newsletter, my sister passed. Judy, I will miss you.