Teaching Was My Life – Until It Became Just a Job
My name is Sharon. I’ve been teaching secondary school for 18 years.
People often call me passionate, committed, or even “inspiring.” But for the longest time, I didn’t feel anything close to that. I would wake up, go to school, handle discipline, deliver lessons, go home, collapse, repeat. I started to feel like I was just moving through life on autopilot.
I couldn’t remember the last time I felt joy from teaching, or even from living. It wasn’t depression. It was something quieter — numbness. Everything became flat.
The turning point came not from a breakdown, but from a coffee catch-up. A colleague I deeply respected mentioned a workshop she attended at POP Institute. She looked different — lighter. “Sharon,” she said, “you give all day long. Maybe it’s time someone holds space for you.”
I didn’t believe in workshops. But that line stayed with me.
The POP Weekend That Shifted Everything
I signed up for POP Institute’s Workshop, not expecting much. Maybe some useful tips I could apply in class, I told myself. What I got was something far deeper.
We started with something simple: check-ins. Everyone shared how they felt, no judgment. I realised how rare it is for anyone to ask me how I feel — or for me to ask myself.
There was an exercise where we had to role-play a moment we avoided. I chose a time when a student cried in my office, and I told her to “stay strong” and sent her out. The facilitator asked me to revisit that moment — not to fix it, just to stay present with it.
I cried.
Not because I did anything wrong, but because I finally allowed myself to feel the weight I had been holding.
If this were a typical Pop Institute Pte Ltd review, I’d tell you about the professional facilitation, the structured approach, and the tools you can use in your daily life. And yes, all of that was true., I’d tell you the facilitators are top-notch, the content is well-designed, and the pacing is balanced. But more honestly?
POP was the first place in years where I was seen not as “Ms. Tan,” but as Sharon — the person.
Receiving, Not Just Giving
One of the biggest revelations from that weekend: I’ve spent my entire adult life giving. To students. To colleagues. To my family.
But somewhere along the line, I forgot how to receive.
There was a part of the workshop where another participant simply listened to me — no advice, no fixing, no rushing. Just listening.
I didn’t realise how much I needed that until I broke down, not from sadness, but from relief. Someone saw me, without needing me to be useful.
That moment alone made the entire experience worth it.
Back in Class, But Not the Same
After POP, I returned to school the same Monday. But I was different.
I still taught the same syllabus. Still dealt with the noise and stress. But now, I started asking students how they were — not as a formality, but genuinely. And when they asked me how I was, I told them honestly. Not everything, but enough to let them know I’m human too.
I also started taking 10 minutes after class to just sit. Not scroll. Not plan. Just breathe.
And something funny happened: the students responded. I didn’t need to push as hard. They opened up. They calmed down. Maybe, just maybe, because I did too.
