For the past seven months (starting in mid September 2013) I was working at an international nursery in Abu Dhabi. At the nursery kids from 4 months to 5 years were split into classes based on their age. I was the head teacher for all the one year olds. I had anywhere from seven to thirteen one year olds in one room. It was madness and one of the best kinds of birth control I have encountered.

I took the job right out of the gate after moving to Abu Dhabi with my husband. My one thought was student loans. The job was a good pay check and only a day job. I promised myself that this was only a job and would not take over my life. But, it did.

As the teacher I took full responsibility of everything and anything that happened to the children while they were at school. If they tripped and bruised their knee, my fault, if one kid bit another kid, I was not watching closely enough, If a kid did not eat all their lunch I must have not given them all of it.

By the end of the day I was wasted. I had no energy and no mental will power. I could barely even form a solid complicated sentence.

For eight months I went. My husband was the one that finally told me enough. The paycheck was not worth the new formed vacancy in my face. He freed me of my anxiety of mounted student debt with the simplicity that we will be OK. We are young, married, and we will work to support one another for now on.

Life goes on(with a smaller budget) and I am free to my studio.

(for the time being)