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So you never miss an episode of the real real podcast. Hi everyone. Welcome back to the real real podcast with me. Me Natalie barbu and today's episode. I am just really excited to share. I think this is one of my very favorite ones just because it's with one of my best friends. I have no Katie since fifth grade and she is definitely my longest friend and we have things on Facebook and stuff. If we look back at memories. We're really arguing about like Team Jacob or Team Edward and just like we've been through all the awkward stages together. She's just been my longest friend. So it was felt very very comfortable having her on the Gasps and share her story because she's definitely someone that I look up to and that is such an inspiration to me and she's just amazing. I cannot wait for you guys to listen to it. And before I start I did want to apologize if you guys are watching this or listening to this on Tuesday because I completely forgot to upload this on Monday morning, which is when I will be uploading from here on out. So I apologize for that. Seriously every Monday from here on out though. It will be on Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time when this comes out today's episode is with my friend Katie. Like I said, and she is a young teacher so she just graduated college two years ago. She's only 23 years old. She teaches 7th grade middle school English, which I feel personally like that is the hardest grade you teach because middle schoolers, they're going through their awkward phase. They're also going through their sassy phase. No one knows who they are. So it's just like an uncomfortable time. I feel like people are kind of like the boys are a little bit rude. The girls are kind of getting into drama for the first time hormones are going crazy. So I feel like it's just like an uncomfortable time to be a teacher I guess and she is so young. So I was very fascinated with how kind of her students interact with her. Because when I think of my teachers typically I always had older teachers I could also be thinking that because when you are in seventh grade 23 does sound so old but then when you're 23, you're like wait, no 23 is so young as specially to be a teacher. So I'm just so excited to share her story and she also kind of wasn't expecting to be at Teacher like if you listen to the podcasts, you will see her on her journey to become a teacher and to kind of be in this place of life was not very conventional. It wasn't like she wanted to do that her whole life. It wasn't even like she studied that in school. So it's just going to be very very super super interesting and I'm I don't know I just had so much fun filming this or recording this. I'm sorry. I always say filming it still getting some time to get used to saying recording instead of filming because YouTube is my main thing and like I've been saying filming for so so so long If you guys also want other professions on here, I would love to know so be sure to DM the real real podcast on Instagram. We also have a private Facebook page Facebook group where you guys can join and it's more of like a networking session like a networking group versus just like another like connecting with the real podcast. Like it's not really related to the podcast in the sense of like I'm not promoting it all the time. I'm not like promoting myself in it. I'm not promoting the podcast as much it's mainly a place for you guys to network and connect. Connect and meet other like-minded people the sure to join the real real podcast on Facebook. We have a show notes website where you guys can join so all of that good stuff. I'm going to have it all in the show notes so that you guys can check it out. But I also wanted to shout out the reviewer of the week. I always like doing this just kind of a way for me to say. Thank you to you guys for reviewing it on iTunes, and if you guys do listen to this episode and you guys liked it, please be sure to give it a review on iTunes and screenshot it and send it to me either on the real real podcast. At Natalie barbu, which is my personal Instagram just so I can thank you guys personally because it does mean so much to me. And that's like the number one way to just like have my podcast be discovered especially since I'm so new to podcasting. So the review that I'm going to shout out is actually from Sabrina and she said I love listening to Natalie's podcast every Monday while commuting to school like she said, it's the real real. I love the way she's going about the podcast. It's so relatable and different from any other podcast. I listened to thank you for motivating me every Monday before a Long day of classes. So amazing. It's kind of ironic because this is going up on Tuesday. But thank you. Thank you. Thank you Sabrina for saying that because that's just exactly what I want. I want this to be a place where you guys can listen on your commute. You guys can listen to while you're at work anything like that. So leave me a DM saying where you guys listen to this. I would love to know or comment on the latest post of mine because I listen to podcasts at work and while I'm driving, but I don't know about other people. I feel like I barely listen to music anymore. I just listen to podcast before I keep it. Gambling on because I feel like I could ramble on forever. I am just going to get into the episode because it is too good and I cannot wait for you guys to listen. Welcome to the real real podcast with Natalie. Barbu Instagram might be your highlight reel, but we're here to talk about the real real high Katie. Thank you for coming on the podcast. Thank you for having me. So we are just going to get right into setting the record straight. So and these are just where I am going to ask you a lot of questions or misconceptions. Is that people have about teachers and you're going to tell me if they're true or if they're false? Okay, let's go you do not get paid a lot. Oh, definitely true. Yeah. I think I get paid the let the lease out of all the friends. Yeah. So that is I am a big believer that teachers are super underpaid definitely so I knew the answer to this one, but I needed to address that grading is the worst part of the job. Honestly. No grading grading is the most tedious part of the job it takes Longest but I think the worst part is just knowing how many extra hours and putting in and not getting paid for because teachers don't get paid overtime. But yeah, we work 10 to 12 hour days easily. So I think that's just like it wears on you down like psychologically knowing that you're basically working for free and it's very mentally draining teachers don't take students behaviors or attitudes personally. It's both a myth and true. I think it's really easy for me, too. To like know what my students are giving me attitude like, oh, they're just middle schoolers. That's how they are and they're going to be loved me the next second. But then sometimes they can say really disrespectful things and get really personal with you like the make fun of my height all the time, which it doesn't bother me at all. But then if they like make fun of me in other ways like then it can be really hurtful or they're intentionally just like give you attitude back knowing that you can't say anything to them no matter what they're saying to you and it's just that is really draining. Yeah. No, I feel like that's so hard. I feel it. Teaching Middle School your age group. I mean, I remember when I was in Middle School and when the stuff that some kids would do was so horrible horrible. Absolutely horrible. I mean, they literally just like tell you I don't care. I don't care we have to say I don't care. I feel like they harass you sometimes I remember that when we were in Middle School, especially because you're young. Oh my gosh. They're always like are you honestly a teacher or than the like make fun of me? It'll be like your soap or your teacher. Yeah. Or they'll talk about like my personal life or just kind of trying to like rub and rub you the wrong way and get under my skin. But yeah that I would take that personally. Oh, it's hard. It's hard not to but at the same time like you have to know that they're going through so much and they don't they don't really understand what they're saying. They just want there's mad about something else in there taking it out on you which is just the nature of the Beast. Well, that's why you're a teacher because you understand that I would be like right back at them. Sometimes. I want to say like a Savage comment back, but I'm No, no like their kids like but when they're saying like no one cares musical when like linen are they like being disrespectful be like I don't care what you do whatever and then it's that can be hard to not feel like why don't care what you do. Well also to let you guys know Katie is very short. So when she was saying, okay, I'm making fun of her height. She is what how are you reciting? Literally barely five foot like all my students are taller than me crazy, which is kind of funny and they think it's hilarious and it really doesn't bother me at all. That's the one thing. That they can make fun of me for that. I'm too completely confident in but that's because I was like made fun of my whole life. So I'm like and whatever now like they always there will be like Miss cool when you're so short and I'm like, yeah, but I'm in control of your grade. Oh good. Yeah clap back. Yeah, I know for me. I feel like I would be I feel like you have to act tough also because you are the teachers so you can't let them see that. It's like gets to you. Oh, definitely. I'm like the worst thing is when they like act like you're not qualified to do your job. Like they'll be like, I mean, I'm only been out of college for two years. And they'll be like, you know, are you still in college or my kind of act like I don't know what I'm doing that shows how young they are if they think that you can teach and still be a handbag Li. I've only like one of them thought I was 18 years old. I was like are you kidding me? Yeah that shows how young they are teachers and work when the students leave. Oh definitely not true. I think I've taken my work home with me the majority of this year and used to be really bought it work life balance. I used to work 12 hours a day and like never sleep and I realized like that doesn't work for me. Me so I try to leave school within an hour after the students leave because it's just not good for me to stay there and I had a creepy janitor situation. What time can we get into that? Oh, yeah, we can definitely if it doesn't get into that teaching is an easy job. Oh, I definitely know I think teaching is one of the hardest jobs just because like most jobs that are required so much time you're at least compensated for and I think like knowing that I would have one of the lowest paying jobs in the entire. Date and I can make more money being a nanny and yet like I still choose to do what I do like that is like really hard but it's also so rewarding I think it's also one of the most rewarding jobs you'll ever have because you can actually see your impact like every single day and when kids tell you that they love you or that they're grateful for you or they're actually learning for the first time like nothing beats that and I think that's the reason why we do what we do. Yeah. I mean, I I've seen some of the things that students have said to Katie. Like they'll bring in gifts or cards or she's also nominated actually for a North Carolina School hero Award, right? Yeah, it's called. Yes, when does voting end voting voting just ended by my kids were super excited. They made like campaign posters like vote for Miss Colvin and I was nominated by two students actually as like a teacher of the year and it just was such an honor to be nominated. I think they were like you deserve this like you put so much time in and you don't always get that affirmation. From kids so it was really nice to for them to recognize like I do put time into it because I do care and it was just really really encouraging. I'm really grateful and I think that was like the morale boost I needed to to get through this last quarter. Yeah, that is so so sweet and it's like such an accomplishment for your first year. Thank you. I was so proud of her when she got nominated and she sent it to our friend group. I posted it on my story. So maybe some of you voted for her but Yeah, I was so proud. I think that is so cool. Thank you. I mean, it's your first year that yeah. I always knew that Katie was going to be like a great teacher that look I wish I had Katie as a teacher when I was in Middle School. We have a good time. Yeah. No, I feel like your classroom is so fun. I helped her decorate it actually yesterday. I was so fun log. I think I've lost it and I have like my cozy seating and I was have the lights out in music jazz music playing and just try to make it as chill as possible. Yeah. I wish I was in your class. I'm gonna Link the Vlog that I decorated her classroom in the show notes. So if you guys want to see it, then you can now tell me a little bit about yourself. So where you from look what you made your in all of the generic about yourself. I'm actually from Charlotte which is where I live now and where I teach actually teach about 10 minutes from the house I grew up in which is really weird and ironic grew up in Charlotte and then I went to AB state for a year and transfer. To UNCC to finish up which is a college and Charlotte and I majored in English because I knew that I wanted to graduate early and go to grad school. And so I had enough credits to do that with English and I always thought it was going to do something different and grad school. I would toyed with teaching with an out always talk myself out of it. Just thinking like, oh do I really want to like work that much for that little money or like is it really worth the hours to put it into something and so I was actually Graduating and I was thinking about doing a master's in Communications and I was going to do strategic Communications and then I got a tutoring job for I think a 9th grader at the time and I loved it so much. I was like, this is so fun for me. I love like creating content for her and tutoring her in English. And then I just realized if I love this so much like maybe this is what I should do with the rest of my life. So I decided to after I graduated That may pursue an opportunity teaching and the Dominican Republic and that's something that I never really thought I would do but I wanted to give back in some way and the opportunity came to actually get on the ground and teach and I flew to the Dominican that August and then I flew in on Saturday and they said on Sunday. They were like, oh by the way, you're teaching tomorrow and you're teaching first and third grade and I was like, oh my gosh, we have no experience an elementary. Like, I don't know what I'm doing. And they'll like you learn like you just have to get in there. So the next morning I woke up at 5:30, and I remember being terrified and I was the first and third grade English teacher and so I taught ESL and I had no training for it at all and no experience working with kids at that age but except for babysitting but I got in there and I learned a lot of things the hard way and I realized how much I love teaching and I was like, I have to get my masters in this this is something I have to do. And so I started looking at opportunities and Charlotte where I grew up and honestly the right doors just opened and I started grad school and I got a job right at a public charter school in the same area that I grew up in so I was really familiar with like the type of kids and Charlotte as a whole and I have friends here. So it just ended up being the perfect opportunity to kind of start my career as a teacher after pursuing that out-of-the-box opportunity at first. Yeah. I know. What do you think? The hardest thing that you've learned being in the Dominican Republic, so I remember you telling me I mean you didn't know Spanish verse Oh, no. I knew like High School Spanish wanted to yeah, so that is so impressive and he literally had no experience like in a classroom setting. Yeah. I think I first classroom management, which is basically helping control the behavior of the kids. That's costly management. That was the hardest piece for me because I had no experience in it. So I didn't know. No, like what to even do to get their attention or it how to like handle when they're like crawling out of their seats and like on the floor. Like how do I get them to respect me? And I think learning that I honestly learned a lot the hard way and I learned what works for me and my style of teaching is really flexible. So I kind of like noise and I like them to interact with me and I realized that that can still work and you can still gain control that way so I kind of learned my style but I think as far as living in the Dominican the hardest For me was coming face-to-face with my own privilege for the first time just like being an American and having the education system that we have here and seeing how broken it is in another country and how much we take for granted our education system and like in the Dominican the average person has up to fifth grade education and then mostly illiterate. So the types of kids we were working with I had no resources at home. They had no pencils. They had no like way to do homework and less we gave them a pencil or Or a paper and they had nothing and yet they were hungry to learn and I think just knowing that as a teacher. I was in that environment first made me really realize like so many people complain about it here and honestly, it's easy to fall into a trap that trap but like how much we have to be thankful for and it country that supports K through 12 public education because we could live in a country like the Dominican where they don't support K through 12 education. It's only required to go up to fifth grade and say I did not know that. Yeah, it's one of the worst education systems in the world. And when you go to their Public Schools, it's literally just a daycare like it's like a building with kids in it and they're not learning anything and I think just having that background experience as a teacher. Like I'm able to kind of like troubleshoot things easier. Like if our copier breaks, I'm not freaking out because I'm like, okay I've done this before. Yeah, you know, we had hurricane days in the Dominican and we had flooding in our classrooms. It's and we had no AC and like the tropics. I think I learned so much and that experience doing with doing with so little resources. I think taught me a lot but it was really difficult at the time. Yeah. That is I mean, I remember hearing Katie and I would have random like FaceTime chats or calls. And I mean the way that she lived in the Dominican also is just coming from a very cushioned. I guess. I would say lifestyle. Yeah, we can admit that like all of us here, especially like in Charlotte North Carolina. I feel like or at my high school or in our district like coming from this to going to literally where you have no AC at all. Yeah. I know you are living with spiders and tarantulas are Angela and like giant frogs. Yeah literally like there we had solar power. And so when it would rain for like weeks at a time with lose power and like electricity and we would have moldy pillows because the humidity was so bad like my clothes molded and I brought home like a suitcase full of moldy clothes. I remember my mom being like I'm gonna throw up like this is disgusting and I had two shirts to wear to work every week and I couldn't do laundry but like once a week so you can kind of Imagine like it's 95 degrees and there's no way to be so and it's so humid, and it's literally so humid, and if you try to even put mascara on it melts off your face, so I wore no makeup, which is silly but Like going to work with no makeup is so vulnerable of a feeling like I felt so young and but as I remember like four weeks and one of my shoes like my only waterproof shoes broke hmm like this drop completely broke and I literally hand sewed the strap onto my shoe and it was the ugliest thing that I really like. I have to have a shoe like it was so to that level of like we couldn't we couldn't receive any packages or mail from the United States. So like if I wanted something and I couldn't find on the island. I literally couldn't find on the island. Hmm. I think that was like a really hard feeling just like I don't have any way to like get what I need here. Yeah. It's a humbling feeling. Yeah, and I mean Katie also did this very randomly. This was a very random decision rear and I just need to backtrack here like with until within two months in two months and I don't even think at this point. Did you know you wanted to be a teacher? Oh, no. I was like, I don't know if I want to do this. I just kind of feel like I need to like leave. States yeah, so this was a very random decision. I just remember her calling me one time like middle of the night kind of having like a quarter like Crisis. Oh, yeah calling me to her house and she was like, I just need to like get out and like go and do something and not here like she wanted to see a different part of the world and different culture and you definitely got that and I think like if you feel like that's something you need to do before you start a career, then you should definitely do it because for me if I hadn't done that like my whole entire career path would be different. Oh, yeah, and it's crazy to think that that one decision that I thought was going to be. So small ended up being the biggest decision I ever made and to do it required like a breakup from a relationship. It required me to like completely separate myself from my friends and family. But like I knew I needed to find myself and thought to be cliche but like yeah, I need to find myself and I needed to like pursue something that mattered more than just like my life and I felt like that's what I was called. To do so I did it and that was probably the hardest decision was just making the decision to go because it didn't really make sense. Like most people after they graduate college. They have a job and they make money and like I was literally like, okay. I'm going to live with my parents until I leave and then I'm going to leave and I don't know what I'm coming back to ya and I had no plan. Yeah, you had nothing coming at you. What are you even applying to grad schools or I put my grad school and hold I literally called them was like, can you just like defer my my mission and my start date? Wait to like another year and they're like sure but that was first Communications. It wasn't even for teaching. Wow. I literally was like, I don't know what I want to do and I just felt like I was supposed to do it and I had like a lot of support around me. But I also like didn't have anything to lose. Like I didn't have a relationship. I didn't have like any ties career-wise. So I was felt really open to doing it and I think like there's no way I could do that now with the ties that I have so like I did it at that point in my life. And so I'd say like graduating college is like a great time to do something random like that like yeah go join. The Peace Corps. Do you teach for America or go live the Dominican like just do something random because you really don't have anything to lose and you are not being paid at all. Oh, no, I like had to raise money to yeah, this is Katie paid to do this. So this was not like most people like she said go out get a job. Get a salary. Like you literally graduated college. I was like, okay. I'm going to teach in the Dominican Republic and in a village there. Oh, yeah and a very likely area this isn't Punta Cana like no no and literally go. Like I literally didn't even have transportation. I was requite like I was literally dependent on other people the entire time and I think that like, it's also kind of neck not a very safe culture for women to be by themselves. And so just knowing that like, oh my gosh, like I'm here doing this it doesn't make Any sense, but looking back I can say that that was the defining moment of my entire life because it shaped my career and it shaped my perspective one on life in the states and like perspective on a lot of things with privilege and just being a teacher the things I learned there. I can't I can't imagine my career without having experienced it. Yeah. Yeah, you definitely burst your bubble and got out of it, which is awesome. And also you didn't know that you were going to be a teacher even when you graduated. So I feel like that gives hope to people that feel like they're still confused. They're graduating college and normally people are freaked out even freshman year or senior year of high school when they're thinking what am I going to major in? What am I gonna do for the rest of my life? I mean, you can graduate college and still not know and that's a fine. Everyone has a different path. So, I don't know. I think that's really important for people to hear because so many people think that oh everyone's Just figure it out. You know you graduate high school you go to college you get a degree you get a job and that's it like good and I think like I was on a track where like I was in a relationship. I thought I was going to major in this like I could I could quote unquote see like the next three years of my life. Yeah, and it wasn't until literally the day I graduated college that I realized. This is not what I want at all and this is not what I'm supposed to be and this is not even the relationship. I'm supposed to be in and it's okay to feel like everything's kind of falling apart. It before it falls together because like you have to be true to yourself at the end of the day. And if something doesn't fit or doesn't feel right or doesn't make sense, like lean into that feeling instead of falling apart and like feeling like a failure because of it because it's so worth it to kind of explore and experiment with being this new stage out of college. I think people are so set in their careers from like such a young stage in college and then they don't experiment or they don't Explore and then so many people end up changing their careers multiple times in their life because you know, we change as people and so who you are 18 is probably not who you're going to be at 22 23, which is definitely not here going to be at 30 exactly. So like just like if you don't feel like you have it all together, it doesn't mean that it's not going to fit together at some point and I think for me like I needed that moment of it not fitting for me to like pursue what I really love. I got an I get emails from my principal that's like giving me compliments. Get the data and for my kids and I realized that like I'm like the leading test how the leading test scores in the entire school. That's and it's like thank you, but it's like I don't say that to brag on myself at all because it's really like not me. Am I feel like everything's falling apart because that's how I felt but that doesn't mean that you're not going to be successful and that doesn't mean that you're not going to have a career because that's how I felt. I was like I'm choosing to like say no to something that makes sense on paper to pursue something that seems kind of wild and crazy and spontaneous. Is and I didn't know that it would lead to like the most fulfilling career that I could ever have. Yeah. No, that is insane. And I remember when you called me on your literally graduation day calling me at her house and basically just completely like changing the course of her life. I mean, she called me and she was like I have to break up with my boyfriend. I'm don't want to go to grad school right now. I want to go to do like Mission work or the Dominican. I don't know if Dominican was in your head at that. I know it wanted to travel or do see another part of the world. And this was so Random. I mean three hours earlier. We were celebrating her graduation. You had a party with who you were with at that time like so happy there was nothing wrong. But but I love nothing wrong on paper my paper and it's like I felt like I got feeling like something isn't right. Something isn't right and I thought the day I graduated all the stress we go away and that got feeling I've been having would go away too and I realized that I just wasn't being true to myself. I wasn't being true to myself in the relationship. I wasn't being true to myself and my career and I wasn't doing what I really love because I was scared to do something that teaching seemed really difficult to me and it seemed like scary to not make a lot of money or decent money or I think I let the fear of not being successful or stay like financially stable. I let that fear kind of take over and that's why I never did it in the first place and then I let my fear of being a Own keep me in a relationship. That wasn't right and I finally was like, I'm tired of being scared. I remember saying like I am so tired of living scared to like live the life that I need that I'm called to live that I want to live. And so instead of choosing fear I chose to like in a relationship and I chose to defer my grad school and I chose to move across the world and that was a really really hard choice. I don't want it to seem like it was So easy for me because it wasn't I remember talking to you and being like I'm literally like I was sobbing I was like, I don't know what this doesn't make any sense. But just how you have to be true to yourself at some point. Yeah, and I love how you said that some even if it's everything's falling apart. That doesn't mean it's not going to fall together like that is so true. And again, I feel like we live in a world where all we're seeing is the great things. Everyone's doing how great everyone's life is Get where I am. Look at what I'm doing. Like I'm whatever like it's the Highlight Reel. Like I always say really what this podcast was inspired by and it's I mean people are always going through the fear of being alone the fear of quitting a job that you hate just because of what other people might think the fear of going a non-traditional route taking a gap year who cares what other people think who cares if it's not the right track quote unquote of the American Life. Life or whatever like you have to do what's right for you? And that doesn't look the same for everyone. Yes, and I was so scared of like not looking like I was doing my life, right? Like I was so scared of what people think and feel like people are gonna think I'm a failure for not having the good 95 like right out of college or they're gonna think I'm a failure for like choosing to do this now instead of when I was 18 and I had less to lose but I think so easy to give in to that fear, but it's so fulfilling not too and like I think about how your career not Is so untraditional in some way is now your YouTuber and like you do like influencer stuff. That's scary. Like that's putting yourself out there in a line and I think it's the same type of feeling of like you have to be true to yourself. Yeah, like you have to take a risk everything you do is a risk, there's so much bravery in that and there's it's so fulfilling. I think you can apply it that message to like very different career paths and different context no matter like what you're going through. There's always a way that you can choose to be brave instead of living in that fear. Yeah. I love that. Wow, I really am glad that we talked about that. I love that. Sorry. No, no. No, that's so on topic because it's so important for people to hear that are graduating or even if you've been graduated for a while. It's never too late. Like that's never too late. That's the whole point. Now. I am kind of going to go back to traditional teaching I guess but I really loved that. What is your morning routine like as a teacher? So as a teacher I wake up and at 5:15 and I work out I Isn't doing this before and it's actually really helped me. I actually do this is so embarrassing to admit but like I do videos at home that is not in very good. I was like, I've always been like a gym girl like I'm a gym rat like I love lifting and I like love going to the gym, but honestly, I don't have time anymore to like go in the mornings to the gym because it takes me like 10 minutes to drive there in two minutes to drive back and I just don't have an extra 20 minutes. So I've been doing like videos at home and I really like it because it keeps me fit and so I do had a home and then I will we'll take a shower and then I'll get dressed and ready and then I always make coffee and breakfast. What's up smoothie every single morning and it was like my lunch in the morning and then I'm out the door and I'm hopefully at school by 7:30 and then at 7:30. Sometimes I have carpool in the morning and that requires me standing outside waiting at cars for 30 minutes and the freezing cold and then the days I don't have carpool. I have to watch kids in the hallway because as a teacher you monitor students when they are transitioning. A class and so every morning I'm like go to class go to class go to class go to class like constantly, like I'm literally like repeating myself 24/7 sometimes I'll sing it. I'm like to be silly in the kids think it's hilarious. Oh, you're such a fun teacher. You are such a fun t-shirt. Sometimes I like start talking in Spanish that they look at me. Like I had three heads and then they like get freaked out and leave anything to get them to move in the morning from like they're gossiping all I go to their little circle and be like stop gossiping go to class and they'll be like, oh gosh, we're not gossiping like Yes, you are. That's hilarious workouts. You do for YouTube videos are I do Beachbody on demand? This is not sponsored. But I love you. I've been doing them and I love I have DVDs and I am like an online do the on-demand online portal thing. So it's a really helpful. Nice. Okay, because I know so many people probably are looking for like online workouts because yes people don't have time. I'm so thankful. I have an apartment. In my or I'm so thankful. I have a gym in my apartment because if I didn't I would not have time to go to the gym. It's so honest like he's so much time like 20 25 cents extra. Yeah. It's like no you don't just drive there that's 20 minutes. And then it's 10 more minutes when you factor in parking and walking charity car. Yeah, and that's an extra 30 minutes that most people just don't have in the morning and instead of skipping your workout. I'd rather do something at home. And especially when it's too cold to run. So like I love running outside, but in the winter, I mean it's been too cold like I can't do that in the morning. Oh, definitely. Do you think your students treat you differently because you are so young. Yes. Definitely. I see this a lot with my students they kind of they open up a lot to me. Like they'll spill the tea which is like teenager speak for gossiping and they'll like be like almost covid like I got to Spill the tea and the like tell me what I say it seriously. Oh, yeah. I have to Spill the tea. Yes. Yes, literally and then they'll tell me about their relationships or like their breakups or you know what they're going through in their life how long our relationships and middle school. Oh my God, actually. Have one couple who's like been together for literally a year and a half. Oh and then some of them are like, okay you break up with my girl. You're like with her friend the next week like I don't understand do they wear each other's sweatshirts still with their last name on the back. They don't actually do that at my school. Oh, no, I'm Steve Sports. Yeah, we have sports. It's not a huge Sports school and I think cause it's Middle School. It's kind of like the the athletes are like not the biggest majority. So it's they do Do they like talk about how they like Snapchat each other like they slide into each other's diems. And that like tell me like, oh so-and-so slid into my DMs and I'm like a like but then they so we have like a really good relationship, but they like ask me for advice about things that they're going through at home or at school and friend drama. Like the girl drama is so real and middle school. Like I don't know where this I remember this so well, oh my gosh, I feel like I'm always the worst the worst. I feel like I'm Breaking up a fight and I was just like okay, you guys need to talk it out like but honestly, like I wish I had that in middle school. So I just tried to be that teacher that I always wanted to have which is somewhat like talk to invent to yeah, but the guys the guys treat me differently because they treat me like a body like they'll be like this covid. Do you listen to like this rapper? Do you like do you listen to rap music? They'll be like, hey, what's up? What's up? Yeah, I Katie has told me some really really funny stories of her middle school students one when they found out that she had a boyfriend. They you care to share. Do you guys it's only five a boyfriend? They literally one of them fell out of his chair like literally got up out of his chair Falls collapses on the ground like acting like he's about to have a seizure and they all scream. Like I literally couldn't get them under control for like 5 minutes. I felt so bad for the next word teacher doing like asking pummeling me with questions like is here firefighter. How tall is he? What does he look like? Tell us everything? Where do you meet but it is it like on and on and on and they've been like obsessed with him ever since Actually found my poor boyfriends Instagram personal like photography instagrammed stopped him. And then there was a screengrab video of his insta stories going around the ground is hilarious like you are so the cool teacher of the school. You're 100% be cool teacher of the school. So a funny thing that I haven't told you yet Natalie. I love that he came to school today. No way. Yeah to bring lunch and my students acted like animals like they were literally Lee telling each other down the hall like this covid boyfriend team was going to boyfriend's here and they live we're running down the hall to like get a glimpse of him that is amazing. They kept wanting they literally kept saying hi like I'm so so whatever like waving their hands like trying to get away from him. I do like he was a celebrity they that internally we're like skipping our clasp to like come in the hallway to see him here in the workroom, and there's like a big glass windows and they were like pressed up their noses pressed. Against the glass like present against the glass and then this one kid was like, I'm the one that found your Instagram. I'm the one that found her Instagram my boyfriend saying they're like what is going on? I'm like, I don't even know anything like he would but he took it like a champ he started waving back and they loved it and said then like the entire day. They're like, can I get her boyfriends autograph? He's famous. He's like God. Can I get his autograph? You know, like they're so obsessed and they'll be like winter wedding and I'm like, I'm not engaged like I don't have a ring. Yeah, really? It's also weird because teachers are normally older and yeah, they're always like most of them are married. So if yes here like a significant other it so it's my husband. Yeah, it's my wife not only is my boyfriend boyfriend is something that they have like they have boyfriends and girlfriends. So I feel like they're like, oh my God, you guys are dating I would there were like, so relating to it and they're like, they love it like the coffee like Miss Coleman like I ship it I showed you earlier and I just think it's the cutest thing and they like bull Right, like one time a student wrote on the board like unscramble these letters and it was like Katie loves Jeremy like my boyfriend's name. That is so cute. Literally so cute and I love that they're that they're invested because I actually have heard research students need to know about your personal life because they don't have like, sometimes they don't have the role model at home. And so it's healthy for them to hear about healthy relationships because they're seeing that and like a proper context of like you can have a loving relationship as an adult and so I don't really mind it from that standpoint and also, Because my boyfriend's a good sport so he doesn't mind it either. Oh my gosh, that's so cute. I love that. I I mean props to you for teaching middle school because middle school is like the worst group set of grades, I guess to teach because I remember in middle school. We were so rowdy because yeah out of elementary school. So you think that you're like hot stuff because your oh, yeah, you know out with out of the baby's like you're not a baby anymore and then but you're like gonna go to high school, so you're kind of like, Ruling the school, especially seventh and eighth graders like oh, yes, so let's bring acts in the hallway and we have and Body Works It Isn't So Cute hormones are going crazy. You're starting to develop the boys are starting to like girls like you're starting to have crushes and it's just there's so much drama. Yeah. It's and then if you don't fit in then people are mean and I think people aren't bullied so much in Middle School. I've had a dress that a lot with my students and like don't be mean to each other like just be nice like wow. How is that so So hard and I feel like it's so much more helpful coming from you because you are more. I mean older teachers they can be like, oh, well, you're you don't understand like you're yeah you were this age like so long ago, but you are closer to their age. So you remember Middle School. I do think it's easier for me because like they'll do things that bother other teachers and like to me I'm just like, oh I was the same way. I like will be really hyper in class with their talk a lot and I try to give them like a lot of chances before getting them in trouble because I'm like honestly like I could not shut up when I was in 7th grade. Yeah. I would literally drink a Monster before school every day. I would come to school like the chattiest person like so hyper don't do that guys. It's like bad, but I didn't believe you so hyper and just like I've been need a space to talk. And so I try to like give them more grace there. I definitely think it's easier being younger because I remember those things and you just forget as you get older. Yeah. Yeah. It's not like a fault and getting older but now I definitely think that you can relate more to them and do teachers have favorites. Oh, that's a hard question. - I think that I definitely tried to like treat all my kids the same. I think it's a lot easier to have a relationship with kids that are open to a relationship with you. So I do have students that are like tell me they don't like me or they'll act like they hate my class and I just wonder oh, yeah, but it's just harder to have a relationship with those students. I'm not actually not as close to them. I'm not actually not as I'm not as close to him as a teacher. And so that that makes it hard. It's not that I don't want to be some personalities don't fit and Okay, like you're not going to like every teacher and I think that's unrealistic for you to think like as a teacher. Oh, everyone's gonna love me because it's just not true. Yeah, so I definitely think it just depends on on the students Personality. Yeah. No definitely. I was never a teacher favorite. I was never a teacher's not favorite like people do use didn't dislike me at all. I was never a problem, but I was kind of just there. Yeah, like I didn't I didn't build a relationship with my teachers, but I also wasn't loud or disruptive and like I was a good student so They did have a reason to like not like me at all. I was just I was kind of just there. I mean it's kind of a stereotype that like teachers always hate the disruptive students. I don't think that's true at all because I have some disruptive students that they know that they're disruptive but we have a great relationship because they still respect me at the end of the day. I think that's just the who they are and I just let them be loud and crazy and all over the place because that's how they are. Like that's who their personality is and I don't want to take that. Yeah from them. So I think it comes Understanding who they are as a person. What is something that you did not know before becoming a teacher? I did not know before becoming a teacher just how many hours outside of school that I was going to put into it. I kind of have like, oh, I can't wait to decorate my classroom. I can't wait to get things together and like I didn't realize how many hours I was gonna spend like just like shopping for school supplies and like getting things together. Do you have to pay for all your school supplies? Yes in my school barely gives us any money for school supplies and like it's just not in the budget and that's pretty typical public school that you don't get money for your classroom. So sometimes I ask parents to donate things if I need them, but if I'm really desperate I have to buy them myself. I bought books for my classroom Library myself. I bought all the furniture in my classroom myself and I just think like the investment financially that you take as a teacher just to be set up each year. I definitely wasn't expecting that and I also wasn't expecting to work so much on the weekends. I had always heard. Like two things, I'd always heard that teachers work so much on the weekends. And I also heard like it's important to have work-life balance. And I think I didn't anticipate just how much of a struggle that was going to be for me at first. It has gotten a lot easier the longer I do it. And so that's kind of what a lot of Veteran teachers say is it gets easier every year to not work on the weekends and to not put all that time into it, but I think at first I really took me aback like I was like, why am I literally barely sleeping? Yeah and working so much and it's just because you have So much setting up to do for each lesson, like I will and sometimes I'll re plan every single day. Like I'll plan a a plan according to advance a week in a month in advance in a week in advance. And then I'm still changing my plans every day. Yeah, because every day is different exactly might get delayed you might get oh fire drill can throw you off or like an unexpected assembly or the students might not get something and I think I kind of anticipated. I have this like false expectation as a teacher that if I teach at once kids Going to get it and that's just not true. And I think that's something I've had to learn to is like it's okay to like slow down and we teach all the time because you'd rather than get it eventually than to rush through the content ya know so important. What is the best and worst thing about being a teacher? Definitely the best thing is like my relationship with my students my relationship with my students is everything to me. They are like my greatest joy. I call them my kids. I invested in all of Of their personal lives I can tell you I can describe each one of them to you and their personality and I think that that is honestly Priceless. I feel fortunate to be doing it at this age without kids of my own because I think is a privilege to invest in other people's kids while you don't have them. Yeah, and I know that I won't have this time when I have my own kids, so I'm really really happy to have the relationships I have and I know that like a lot of these kids will end up being like Instagram friends. They graduate eighth grade and like I'll be able to watch them grow up and really be investing in their life. And I think that is so Priceless because I'm not I'm not able to do that and any other job I'm able to really watch kids grow up and I don't have to parent them. I'm kind of coming out as like an older sibling friend. Yeah. I'm able to do that without really the day-to-day responsibilities of parenting them. But at the same time every single day, I am a parent a teacher a counselor. Sometimes a nurse like all these unexpected roles every single day. The the worst part about being a teacher is definitely just how much you're investing and how like equally how much you are always appreciated and how much you're not appreciated at all. Yeah, and I think oh I think teachers are the most underappreciated people ever because people think oh, it's an easy major. It's so yeah, you know, it's just teach like whatever or they're young like teaching middle school like you should know that. Stuff already. I don't know. I just feel like teachers are so underappreciated. Yes and parents and older people don't see what you're doing. It can be really hard to have a difficult parent or to have co-workers that are older that that might not understand or where's your respect to your method of teaching or to have other people like honestly, like other will appears in my life that don't understand what I do and they complain about Like something in their job and I'm like, oh, I would love to like take a lunch break or I love to be able to go the bathroom. Whatever I want whenever I want you can't go to the bathroom. I literally can't go to the bathroom like all day. And I mean it's it's silly and it but like I'm so dehydrated every single day because I never drink water because I never can go the bathroom and like that is like such a teacher at quote-unquote teacher problem, but it is because I would never think about that. No, but like I'm literally like we're talking right now and I'm like, I think I've had two cups of water today like it's that's just The nature of the job and I'm honestly the hardest part is the on appreciation because I truly never stop thinking about my students. I never stopped thinking about my job. I dream about teaching I drew my lesson plans. Like my other teacher friends are the same way because if you're invested in this job, you are fully invested and I think just not having that appreciation and respect in return sometimes can be so draining because I'm going to mess up. I'm a human like I'm not going to be perfect. I mean and I think sometimes Times students expect you to be perfect when you're not they disrespect you or people in general don't respect you and I think our honestly like our government doesn't respect teachers enough with like financially compensating them. And I think it's just all around just an appreciation for really the level of time and commitment because I can tell you that I never stopped thinking about my students and that's really emotionally draining to so like I might not be working like when I'm laying in bed, but I'm always Thinking and like thinking about a student and like a personal situation or a crisis that they might be in and just wanting to like be there for them in the right way. So I think just turning that off is really difficult. Yeah, you can't and that's why I feel like you are a really great teacher because you have those qualities. Thank you. You actually love it. You're not just doing it because o it was an easy major. So I'm just going to teaching that it was not an easy major. Yeah, I know and people who do that though. I feel like they last like a year. That's the thing. It's like you're not lifelong teachers or this is not the career you go into that. You're like I literally only want to do it for a year. This is not where you going to because you're like, I am a natural teacher. This is what I'm supposed to do and you still might burn out. That's the reality. It's like the statistics on teacher burnout are crazy like most teachers don't teach more than five years because it's so emotionally exhausting and you know, I'll never make a promise for my career. I'm going to work this many years. We've been over this many years because I've learned to really be open to like what the next After a holds, but I will say that this is not a career that I went into like with a mindset of oh, this is going to be easy or yes is only going to be a year. It's temporary. This is not the job to do that because you're investing in people and people matter the most. Yeah, no. Well. Well, I have loved having you on this podcast. I only really liked this episode a lot and it's also nice because we're friends too. So it's just way easier like talking to a friend on a podcast and it has been so so so much fun. So thank you so much for having me. It was an honor and do you want to plug yourself? Do you want to say where they can find you so sure so I am on Insta you my understanding a damn you say like, I'm not a student or potential student. I am a follower of Natalie's because I have this tendency to block everybody. I don't know because I think they're my students in Disguise. So I'm like at Katie underscored Colvin and then I also have a food account that I do food posting food blogging and Charlotte. It's at Katie eats CLT. And yeah, I love it. I could answer if you guys have any questions about teaching. Please don't hesitate to either like DM Natalie or DMV because honestly, I wish I had someone to talk to and I was making this choice because there's a lot of things I learned the hard way and there's so many nitty-gritty things about teaching that like I couldn't talk about and like a podcast because it's just honestly boring for people who aren't teachers but if there's any specific questions you have or like you want to know more specifically like how I lesson plan. Nor how I go about my day to day as a teacher how I practice self-care any of those types of things just like let me know and I'm happy to help well, thank you for that Katie. Seriously. Thank you so much. This was so much fun. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah. I hope that this inspired any of you guys or that you guys don't feel as alone anymore or anything at all. So, thanks. Thank you.
The world- and your social media feeds- are all full of everyone’s highlight reels. But in this podcast, I want to expose real life, real people, real jobs, and the real reel. Today, I wanted to bring a very special guest- a 7th grade teacher. I am so excited for you to hear this episode about the real life of a teacher and learn some things you might not know about this very under-recognized profession. Get ready to reflect, laugh, and learn! Meet my best friend, Katy- who also happens to be a middle school teacher. She graduated college from UNC Charlotte with a degree in English. She is one of the kindest people I know with a huge heart and definitely one of my only friends who has the patience to deal with middle schoolers. Katy did not originally plan to teach. She did not even go to college for it. Until one day, she had a quarter-life crisis and realize she was not where she needed to be. So she deferred her grad school, switched up her career, packed her bags and moved to the Dominican Republic to teach. She did not have any experience besides tutoring and she didn't even speak the language- but she found her calling. To become a teacher. She now teaches  7th grade English in Charlotte, NC and here is her story... 