Looking Back at 2020, Part II: My Favorite Projects, Despite a Tough Year

~ Swapna ~ Leave a comment

Note: I made this a 2-part series because it was getting too long! Go here to see how “the before times” (i.e., before quarantine and the reality of COVID-19 hit) went.

In 2020, I was glad that my side hustle was just that–something I could put off to the side. I am an AP English Language teacher and mom to a now-four-year-old. When quarantine life started in March and my school moved to entirely virtual learning, my husband and I had to pivot to figure out a new family routine. And ours meant 7-day work weeks in which we tag-teamed on parenting duties and ramped up our productivity during our work hours. I had to figure out how to teach online AND get my kids ready for an AP test in May. I didn’t have time for my side hustle anymore.

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Looking Back at 2020, Part I: High Hopes

~ Swapna ~ 2 Comments

Note: I decided to make this a 2 part series because it was starting to get too long! Go here to see the next one in the series – Favorite Projects from 2020.

Move over, Creatives Who Took Advantage of Extra Time During Quarantine To Grow Their Businesses. Proud Side Hustler Who Put Her Creative Projects to the Side coming through!

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A 2021 Pep Talk and Some Slightly Embarrassing Pictures from My First Year Teaching

~ Swapna ~ Leave a comment

This phrase takes me back to my first year as a teacher. 

Look! It’s me as a baby teacher! My first day of school, first year!

I shared my first year with a badass teacher support group. We were all new teachers–hired the same year, or recently enough to still be baby teachers. That first year felt like College+. We ran to each other’s classrooms between periods, often to help monitor kids or complain about our last period or laugh at something silly that happened. We went out to happy hours as soon as we got our paychecks. We ate lunch in one classroom, arranging the desks into a circle and sitting down to talk about our love lives or the latest viral video (Ready for a flashback? Our favorites included Rebecca Black’s Friday, Lonely Island’s Jack Sparrow song, and Gangnam Style). 

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