“Early on I compartmentalized my career and professional relationships, on one hand, and my personal life. My husband isn't a teacher (…) My childhood friends aren't teachers. I don't have a single childhood friend who's a school teacher, not a single one.”
“This microcosm of teachers—not that I don't like them and not that I don't empathize with them, but it doesn't help me and it doesn't do me any good [to always be with them] (…) It doesn't help me to rehash work outside of school.”
“Today, if you ask me about a typical day, I'll say I teach my classes, then I stop work and I come home early because I want to pick up my kids, and then I spend time with my two children. But in the evening, I do go back to doing work around 9:00 p.m. From 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. or midnight, I'm working (…) This separation I established [between when I was and wasn’t working] very quickly became a lifesaver. Having said that, I do try to find moments to spend with other teachers while I’m in school, but it's vital that this breathing space exists outside of my work day.”
“This way I feel I’m not just ruminating and mulling over things over which I have no influence.”