I met my husband when we were both teachers.

We always maintained a professional attitude while working together, and it wasn't until later that we realized we felt a mutual attraction towards each other. Later on, I transferred to another school, and we met again at a track and field competition—both of us were coaching at that time. And the rest is just part of a story.

I really enjoy sharing the same profession with my partner, because he understands everything I go through. We can complain together and also encourage each other with our actual teaching experience.

However, due to gradually emerging health issues and my inability to continue teaching, I switched to a full-time writing career two years ago.

It's not always easy to stop working in the same field.

For me, it feels like I’m losing my professional career, and that’s very distressing. The symptoms suddenly started to affect me, and I don’t feel like I have any choice. However, I still have a choice about what to do next.

I had been engaged in professional writing during my teaching career, and to be honest, writing has always been my most core dream. It was only recently that I realized that being forced to become a full-time freelance writer was actually a blessing in disguise, and it was the push I needed to embark on this path.

My husband is still working in the classroom, while I can help him cope with the professional pressures that are all too familiar to me. I have a deep understanding of what he is going through, which is of great help to our relationship. Since I am very familiar with the most exhausting periods of the academic year, I have a general idea of when he might need my support.

Over the years, our career changes have also led to different attitudes towards work. In the past, both my husband and I agreed to keep work confined to the classroom, as bringing work home had a significant impact on our mood. Therefore, we maintained a clear distinction between work and family.

But now, I'm engaged in something that I love even more than teaching, and I hardly ever manage to completely detach myself from my work. I'm always thinking about creativity, pondering ideas all day long, so I hardly ever have a moment when I'm truly off work.

What I hope now is that, as time goes by, my husband will also become as passionate and dedicated to his own projects as I am to mine.

I began to encourage him to pursue his passions in his free time.

I don't regret leaving this industry, as it's much better for my health. I'm very grateful that I was forced to make writing my full-time job, rather than just treating it as a side hustle.

In addition, I can still satisfy my urge to teach by volunteering at my son's school and developing courses for other teachers.

The desire to give back and help others, which we shared with my husband, was the real reason we chose to become teachers in the first place. However, the way we want to achieve this now has changed.

We have already started to envision what he might do in the coming years after he retires. Setting up a maker space for young artists is just one of the ideas we came up with to utilize his teaching experience in a way that involves less stress and offers more sense of achievement.

Through more conversations about the kind of life we want to lead in the future, I realized that I could be a supportive partner and help him find a job that he would never want to quit. Since I work from home now, I can also take care of many logistical tasks for a small business we are preparing to start; this business will sell his artwork and other products.

Seeing him shine again while doing what he loves gives me a great sense of accomplishment, because all I want is for him to be the best that he can be.

More importantly, through our creative projects, we are becoming more and more like a team, and in this process, we have also deepened our connections with each other. And this is the real gain that helps him to start thinking beyond the classroom.