I have recently quit my job as an Associate Teacher at a charter school. The school is notorious for its high turnover rate. It was frustrating to leave almost at the end of the school year but it was much needed since I was being pressured a lot to the point it got too much. Leaving a job is painful because you lose your source of income and benefits.

I had a chance to go to an alumni event for NYC Men Teach the same week. I was telling almost every individual I talked to that I quit my job at that charter school. To my brief surprise, they were very happy I left. Most of them knew about this school which is just awful. Some folks comforted me for leaving and some shared their stories about their experiences working at charter schools. Some of them offered me to help find a different job.

The next few days I started getting so many offers and given three interviews in one day. It felt not everything was gloomy or working at a charter school for five months does not necessarily impact your resume. Being from Pakistan, individuals are taught to be resilient and just do what you got to do to survive like take abuse in a workplace. In America, things feel different or those Americans who are brought up with American values of individualism to take control of your life if things are not working out. The Bill of Rights and the Civil Rights Movements are some examples of history.

People from the alumni event were the people I knew already and got acquainted too. They knew my story, my struggles and I knew theirs. When I told them I quit my charter school job, they felt understood and gave me a sense of comfort and belonging. If one thing doesn’t work out then that doesn’t define your life or you as a person solely.

If you look at examples from the Civil Rights Movement, it was not about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. There were plenty of other activists (John Lewis, Rosa Parks, Andrew Goodman, Angela Davis), many different organizations (like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Black Panther Party), that were active in advocating rights for people of color. Even President Lyndon Johnson played a role by signing the Civil Rights Act (at a time when US troops were in Vietnam).

Napoleon Hill’s book Think & Grow Rich advocates for the individual to have a strong circle which included friends, business partners, family. Basically, the circle would include people you could trust. It would exclude people who would try to pin you down. Kevin Hart’s documentary on Netflix discusses him having a circle of friends who are also his guides and supporters.

To wrap it all up…

You need people around you for help.

You need a strong circle of people who you can trust.

You must stay away from people who try to stab you.