The Switch Up
Personal update and changes to the way content will be published at the Literary Lightworker going forward
It’s been months since I wrote a piece for this Substack publication. It’s not that I haven’t had the urge to write, on the contrary. I’d sit down with a nifty title, hammer out a few sentences and then abandon the piece because something else comes up. Such is the life of a woman with multi-faceted interests and way too much on her To-Do list. You see, I’m a woman in transition.
Let me tell y’all some of my business.
This year, I ended my teaching career. After twelve years, I knew it was time to truly let it go. Thing is, I’ve been knowing this for a few years. Even my sweet mother who passed away in 2023 was trying to help her daughter find another job despite her failing health and physical mobility. I was her caregiver but she, being the extraordinary mother that she was on this Earth, still tried to do whatever she could to ensure her daughter’s happiness.
Teaching has been draining me for at least four to five years now. But these last three years specifically have been overwhelmingly challenging. With the constant demands being shoved onto teachers along with the disastrous political shenanigans on the federal, state, and local levels, unsupportive administrators, apathetic parents, and disruptive children, I realized I was losing myself. So, a turn of events that initially appeared as a problem became the blessing in disguise I needed.
I managed to finish the school year. But, on May 22nd, I walked across the parking lot on the school campus to my car for the last time. There was no great send off; just me with my light backpack, free of the school laptop, and my purse slowly walking to the car. It wasn’t bittersweet. It was the moment I had been waiting for so I savored it by not rushing off. I felt a burden lifted. I became free; free to be the educator I dreamed of being when I entered the field twelve years ago.
I have journals from as early as 2017 with entries and ideas about starting an educational consulting business. That is now becoming a reality. Bush Harkins Educational Solutions will be offering academic coaching, instructional design, curriculum development, and culturally relevant materials. I’m super excited about continuing to shape the future through the children.
In addition, I have also started a retail brand called Scribealicious. The vision for this brand is to create an aesthetic that I think would be appealing to artsy souls like myself. Whenever I would shop for home decor, t-shirts, journals and such, I wasn’t able to find the style I was looking for, so I created a brand for those like me. In addition, I have an affiliate bookshop that will be linked to the texts that I will write more about in future pieces for this Substack.
About that…
When I initially started The Literary Lightworker, the goal was to post content weekly. That has become a tedious chore for me, a writer who is deliberately slow and contemplative. Now, since I am laying hands to the ventures that I set aside to focus on life’s priorities, I can’t keep the pace of weekly content. Therefore, posts will be monthly now. These monthly posts will contain sections like this one. Then, there will be some podcasts, video posts, live streams, and workshops. Those are in the works. Some of these features will be behind a paywall to encourage paid subscribers. After all, I am self-employed now so all efforts must have some kind of compensation. Don’t worry. I don’t have any one percenter ambitions but I do have bills to pay and knowledge to share.
If you've gotten this far, thank you. See you very soon in the next piece.
— Chandra