📖Turn the Page📖

Quick reminder: Tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 13th) is the FREE Q&A Event at 11am EST! I will send out the link tomorrow morning an hour before we begin, but here it is just in case! See you there!

Zoom Link for Q&A: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86289785994​

Hey Reader,

Thank you so much to everyone who replied to my last email.

I read every single one—and I was genuinely moved by how honest you were.

Something I noticed?

Many of you, no matter which letter you chose, said some version of:

“I feel too overwhelmed to even think about what’s next.”

And I get that.

I remember that feeling so clearly.

There was a time when I felt like I was driving through my life in the dark with only one headlight—barely able to see what was right in front of me, let alone where I was headed.

Teaching legit felt like survival mode.

My energy was constantly on empty.

And any idea of doing something different felt too big, too blurry, too far away.

Too MUCH.

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But here’s what I wish I had known back then:

You don’t need the whole road to be lit up. You just need enough light to take the next step.

Because the thing is:

Clarity rarely arrives all at once.

It shows up in little flickers—a moment of curiosity, a hint of interest, that tiny tug in your chest that says, “Maybe…there’s something else for me.”

But you have to honor that tiny light before it disappears.

And that’s really why I’m writing to you today, Reader.

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Whether you’re fully in the classroom, halfway out, or already somewhere new but still trying to find your footing…

You don’t have to see the whole path. You just have to keep moving with whatever light you have right now.

If you haven’t replied to my first email yet, I’d still love to hear where you are on your journey.

Just hit reply and tell me whether you’re A, B, C, or D.

And if sharing feels a little scary… that’s okay.

Often, the first brave step happens in the dark.

I’m right here with you.

More soon. ❤️

Meredith

P.S. if you’re planning on coming live tomorrow to the Q&A, I can’t wait to spend that hour with you—and hopefully offer that littlest bit of clarity you need to take some small but mighty steps! Bring your Qs! If you’re planning to watch the recording, here’s your last chance to submit your question so I can answer it for you!

Submit here: https://forms.gle/iPyjJ54fcH5nwSgs9​

📖Turn the Page📖

Before we jump in: ‘ve been talking about this FREE Ask me Anything Event on Saturday December 13th at 11am.

If you are thinking about or planning on being there, will you reply with the word (initials?) AMA?

If you are interested but will have to catch the recording, will you reply with RECORDING? I want to have an idea of who will be attending live!

Hey Reader,

There’s something I always think about this time of year. And I’m wondering if it’s on your mind too.

As a teacher, Thanksgiving week always hit me with a double punch.
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The feeling of needing to have gratitude for a “steady” job, benefits, and a predictable routine… and also a sinking feeling that I was meant for something different.
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I’d pack up my classroom for the break thinking, “I should be more grateful… so why does this still feel like it just doesn’t fit?”
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Eventually, though, that quiet discomfort became too loud to ignore.

So in late 2021, I took a small-but-terrifying leap:

I started building my freelance business—in the early mornings, in the hours afterschool, and on the weekends—in all those precious pockets of time that teachers guard like treasure.
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Eventually that “side experiment” became a whole new career—one built around creativity, autonomy, and work that actually felt like mine. With an energy that felt aligned instead of draining.
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The shift didn’t happen overnight, but it did happen because I let myself want something more. I let myself wonder past that initial what if…?

I like to call this: dreaming with the lid off. Let yourself have the big, wide open type of thinking that your self limiting beliefs often shutdown because, because, because…

Recently, I’ve been connecting with teachers who are walking that same path—balancing lesson plans with client projects, staff meetings with strategy sessions.
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Within minutes of talking, I could tell how much they’d shifted: more grounded, confident, and clear-eyed about what they’re building…and no longer apologizing for wanting something beyond the classroom.
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The point here?
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You can take chance on what you really want—even while still showing up for your students. Even while feeling grateful for what you currently have and the spot you’re currently in.

Both/And.
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For me? My life this thanksgiving is almost unrecognizable compared to 2021.
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That’s the difference between forcing yourself to only be grateful for a life that doesn’t fit…

Instead of also honoring the nudge toward the one that does.
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Gratitude doesn’t mean you have to stay.

You’re allowed to appreciate what you have and outgrow it at the same time.
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​This year, don’t chase “being thankful enough to stay.”
Instead, chase the work that makes you feel alive, energized, like yourself again.

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And if you’re in that in-between season — loving parts of teaching but craving something that’s yours— I recorded a podcast episode with Preston Lee on his podcast on From Freelance to Founder about balancing a full-time job with building a freelance business.
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It’s the conversation I wish I had when I was sitting in my classroom, wondering if wanting more or something different made me ungrateful.

You can listen right here (or anywhere you listen to podcasts!):

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Balancing Self-Employment Dr… Nov 7 · Freelance to Founder 25:10   ​

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And if you’re feeling ready for some steps to find your own path out of the classroom and into content or copywriting for education companies, stay tuned. The next few weeks are going to be geared toward those exact steps and strategies to get yourself moving in this direction!

I hope you had an amazing and restful Thanksgiving. I’m so happy you’re here!

xo,

Meredith

📖Turn the Page📖

Hey Reader—

Buckle up. This one is bit a longer than usual. But worth the read, I promise!

Many of you have been hitting respond and letting me know when things resonate, where you are in your journey, and even asking me questions about what copywriting and whether what I’m doing is for real… (Please keep responding—it makes me so happy and excited to hear from you out there and truly, I read every email).

So I feel like I need to say a little something about that.. because this IS really, really, REAL.

This particular email made me laugh a little, because, Reader, it sounded like something I would say.

Well—something I would have thought 5 years ago.

All of which is to say, I TOTALLY GET THAT SENTIMENT.

When you can’t see the outline or the shape of something yet, it’s really hard to believe it might be possible.

Which is why I know it’s so important for you (no matter where you are on this path) to get some answers to the things you’re wondering about. To the what-ifs and the what-about-this’ and the but what about MY situation type questions.

I’m here for all of it.

Keep reading to get the latest on the FREE Q&A event I’m planning for EXACTLY THIS PURPOSE.

You won’t want to miss it (but don’t worry, there will be a recording if you do! 😉)!

But before we get there…

Deep breath. (I mean, maybe a few. Take 37 if you want—I’ve needed them all this week 🫠)

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Because we need to talk about something important:

Over the last few weeks, you’ve been walking through my 4-part Leverage Series—
and if you’ve been reading even a little bit closely (I get it. Lotta noise out there these days…), then you’ve probably started realizing…

👉 You are sitting on WAY more value, experience, and opportunity than you’ve been giving yourself credit for.

Let’s recap what we just did together: (if you missed these, you can click the link below to get caught up!)

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​🔥 Leverage your experience—everything you’ve lived in and out of the classroom counts.​​
🔥 Leverage your skills—you’re already doing high-value work most people can’t.​
🔥 Leverage your network—someone you already know is a bridge to your next step.​
🔥 Leverage your voice—you ARE the authority. YOU are your own permission slip.​

This isn’t fluff. It’s real.
It’s the blueprint.
And YOU have it.

And if you’re new here — HI! 👋
Welcome to Turn the Page, the free email community for educators who are ready to rewrite the script and build work that actually fits your life—instead of trying to do it the other way around.
I’m so glad you’re here—truly.

Quick check-in: Where are you on your path?

This helps me tailor what I send you next so it actually lands, supports, and actually MOVES you forward.

Click the one that feels like you (this is for everyone, not just those that have recently subscribed):

👉 I’m still teaching but exploring options​​
👉 I’m planning my exit within 12 months​
👉 I’ve already left and I’m building my next chapter​
👉 I’m freelancing or running a business + want to grow​

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LIVE Q&A—Saturday Dec. 12 at 11am

So excited for this! This is where you get to ask all your burning questions about being a copywriter for education companies.
Clarity. Strategy. Courage. The next right step.

✔ Ask me anything live
✔ Submit questions if you can’t be there OR if you don’t want to ask them live!
✔ Replay sent out if you can’t make it

📅 DATE: Saturday December 12th, 2025
⏰ TIME: 11am EST​
📍 Calendar Invite: Add it to your calendar now! ​

​🎟️ Anonymous Q Submission​

This is YOUR space to get unstuck, get seen, and get moving—and I cannot wait.

If you have questions about the questions (LOL, I usually do), please hit respond and ask away. I read every email!

This season is big for you.
You’re not behind.
You’re not late.
You are building momentum — and I’m here for all of it.

Let’s turn the page. 👏

💫 Meredith

📖Turn the Page📖

Hi Friends! This is the final email in the Leverage mini-series — a 4-part conversation about how to use what you already have to build what’s next… even if you still have 2 feet and most of your brain in the classroom 😉

If you missed the others, you can catch up here

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👉 [Leverage Your Experience]​
👉 [Leverage Your Skills]​
👉 [Leverage Your Network]​

Hiya Reader,

Before we close out our Leverage series, I want to talk about something that sits right at the heart of why so many teachers feel stuck when they start thinking about their next chapter:

Teachers learn to quiet themselves long before they ever learn to advocate for themselves.

Most educators I know — myself included — have decades of experience, degrees (sometimes more than 1 Masters degree 🫥), many certifications, endorsements, specialized trainings, hours of PD, and a depth of knowledge that could rival any expert panel.

And yet…

—They still hesitate.
—They still shrink and qualify and water down their opinions.
—They still feel like they need to double-check whether they’re “allowed” to say something out loud.

Why?

Because the system trains you to:

• Accept constant oversight (ahem, that micromanaging admin anyone?)
• Defer to people who may have less on-the-ground expertise than you
• Question your instincts
• Prioritize compliance over confidence

(I legit received “feedback” from one supervisor after an observation, and one of the only things on the paper was, “Meredith frequently forgets to turn the smart board off 🥹)

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After enough years of that, you begin to believe that maybe you aren’t all that good at what you do. You might even forget that you ever had a strong voice to begin with.

(If you know me (you will soon), you know it’s difficult to muzzle this yap. 17 years if that ya’ll.)

But here’s the truth I need you to hear today:
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You are an authority.

Your experience has weight and value.

You do not earn authority by waiting for someone to hand it to you.
You earn it by recognizing what’s already yours.

Over the last few months, I’ve been stretching my own voice in new (and sometimes scary) ways—saying yes to more visibility, more conversations, and more opportunities to speak from lived experience.

And let me be honest: it hasn’t been seamless.

I’ve sweat through my many shirts (sorry for the TMI)
I’ve felt my throat tighten when the mic turned on.
I’ve wondered afterward if I “said the right thing.”

But each time, I walked away with the same realization:

My voice is stronger than my fear.
And yours is too.

Let me say that again:

YOUR voice is stronger than YOUR fear.

But you have to actively choose to feed one over the other.

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One of the biggest challenges teachers face when transitioning careers isn’t skill— it’s permission.

No one ever showed you that the way you think, communicate, teach, and lead is valuable in places far beyond the classroom.​
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So you learned to wait.
🫠To ask.
🫠To be called on.
🫠To hope someone else would validate what you already know.

But here’s the shift that opens every single door in your next chapter:

Stop waiting for the “go-ahead.”
You, Reader—YOU are the go-ahead.

Your voice becomes leverage the moment you start using it.
Not perfectly—just honestly.

As you move forward, whether you’re still in the classroom or knee-deep in exploring a new direction, I want you to hold onto this:

Your voice is not loud because you talk over people (teachers know it’s in the getting quiet that kids listen 😂).
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Your voice is loud because it carries truth, lived experience, and a skill set forged under pressure most people will never understand.

That’s not something to mute.
That’s something to amplify.

More soon,
​Meredith

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P.S. Hit reply and tell me:
What’s one thing you wish you felt confident enough to say out loud about your skills, your expertise, or your next chapter?
I’d love to hear it LOUDLY—and cheer for it.

P.P.S Stay tuned: next week I’m going to announce a FREE event I’m hosting JUST FOR YOU. You won’t want to miss this!

📖Turn the Page📖

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Hey all! I know it’s only Wednesday but I have a lot of new subscribers and I wanted to say hi! If you are new here (or if you’ve been around since day 1!), I would really love to hear from you. If I could help you solve one thing right now, what it would be?

Hit reply and let me know!

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Hey there Reader,

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Something I really want to talk about?

The fact that teachers are notorious for downplaying their expertise.
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15 years of classroom experience? Still nervous about the “feedback” they might get on observations.
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Masters degree in multiple areas + specialized training? Still feeling like they can’t speak up about things they have a depth of knowledge in.
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I know these things because I lived them.
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The truth is that those 15 years are worth exponentially more because of the myriad hats educators wear:
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👉 Managing 5 different types of curriculum and how to implement them
🫶 Attuning to 25 different personalities and how they learn
🗣️ Communicating with 4 different types of stakeholders
⏲️ Planning and grading and pivoting—sometimes hourly
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So when the time comes and you feel the nudge to try something new, outside of teaching, you freeze up.
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You can’t find your authority, because no one has taught you how to translate it.
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The thing I am so bent on helping teachers see is that their expertise is so valuable.

And it’s not just in the classroom.
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Part of my own authority building in this season has been guesting on podcasts.
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Is it nerve wracking, Reader? Yes.
Do I almost always stumble in some way? Absolutely.
But has it also been an exercise in remembering that I have a lot of knowledge and experience to share?
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You betcha.
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If you are here, you are likely feeling the nudge to take steps in a different direction. If this is true for you, you don’t want to miss this episode of Beyond the Classroom with Lisa Harding.
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Not only will you hear a little more about the path I took from teaching to copywriting, but I also offer some tangible ways you can get started right now, even if you’re still in the classroom.
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Because here’s the thing no one wants you to know:

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You don’t need anyone’s permission but your own.
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You can listen here:

#074: [Teacher to Entreprene… Oct 28 · Beyond the Classroom wit… 40:00   ​

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(or anywhere you listen to podcasts!)

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xo Meredith

P.S. stay turned for the 4th email in Leverage: the mini series in helping to show you all the ways you can leverage what you already have as you take these steps!

Missed the first 3?

Check them out here:

👉 Email 1: Leveraging Your Experience ​
👉 Email 2: Leveraging Your Skills​

​👉Email 3: Leveraging your network​

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