Just went into panic mode about the fact that I'm working for
myself this year, haha.
You know the story if you've been following the blog, so I won't
fully repeat it, but since I've removed all the posts related to what took me
from hopeful, first-time-international-educator-with-positive-expectations-and-an-open-mind to disenchanted-but-not-discouraged, former
teacher/tutor-for-hire/soon-to-be health coach/personal trainer, I'll give you
the quick recap:
The school my wife and I were hired to teach at and I didn't see
pupil-to-pupil for a variety of reasons, so over the course of 3 or 4 contentious
months, we negotiated a situation in which I'd take a leave-of-absence while my
wife assumes a new position at the school. I no longer work for them, she does,
but I'm still under their sponsorship, so I can't (and wouldn't) work
elsewhere. I've chosen to pursue my health, writing and artistic passions while
supporting myself by contracting out my tutoring services (because the ability
to teach my ass off didn't cease to exist just because I resigned from being a
teacher; I'm trying my hand at cutting out the middle man). There were many
posts dedicated to the struggles I experienced over the past year, but I
removed them because I felt like I had strayed from the original purpose of the
blog, which was to focus on my unique experience as one of the few black
American males here in Doha. The blog underwent a change in design and mood to
reflect the shift back to it's original purpose.
While caught in the throes of panic, I decided to call the
family I worked with last school year and arrange to start tutoring after next
week. It's sometimes downright scary to know that whatever you earn will be
completely dependent upon your own hard work but it's a good fear and that's
how I want it. It'll be a good 6 weeks before the money starts coming in but I've
grown to learn that when you handle your business with prudence, smarts and
integrity, the money takes care of itself. In the meantime, I'm still working
out if/when I'll start this online health certification program. I'm leaning
towards it while also very much considering becoming a certified personal
trainer, hoping to offer my services to former colleagues and whoever else
might want/need my services. I'm making sure to eat well, exercise, rest and
take care of the house during the day (I'm like a house husband and it's not
bad work if you can get it, haha). I've spent the past week improving my online
presence because I'm going to need it to be solid as I reach out to different
creatives in the Doha community, which won't be easy. I'd like to get into a
hip-hop scene of some form or another, so we'll see. I may not be going to work
every day anymore, but trust me, I'm on the job.
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