Running the rat race

Keeping The Day Job - April 10, 2026

Dear Reader,

For those who don't know, I'm an old writing tiger as I've crossed the mid- century mark. In real life, under a different moniker, I have a Bachelor’s degree in History and Geography. I teach college-level World History and Human Geography courses for students at a local high school, and I've been teaching for over 20 years. The job has its upsides, but the negatives outweigh the positives most days, and things have slowly worsened as time passed.

This is not a gripe session about the ills of modern-day public high school. You don't read my newsletter posts for that. Instead, it is an important context for where the dream came from, where it is now, and where I see it going in the future.

Way back in 2013, I stood in an empty classroom debating the merits and expenses of continuing my education at the graduate degree level with a more experienced teacher. I was considering an exit-strategy from my career in education. I wanted out of a cage. She wasn’t quite aware of that last bit at first. Even I wasn't sure about it then. Education had been my ticket to a better life. Could more of it improve things yet again?

She asked about the courses I would take. I explained I didn't want to be a counselor or an administrator, and while I could easily have earned a Master's and eventually a Doctorate degree, time played a role and money was always a factor.

The truth surprised her when I stated I wouldn't want to pursue a higher degree in education, that I was considering something else. She asked me, "What would you do if you didn't teach?" Her question still haunts me. For a few years I struggled with it, finally decided against more education and looked around me to discover something I enjoyed that might fill the need.

If I could support myself without my day job, I would build a better life. The dream appeared as an answer a few years after that, but maybe it wasn't what I believed after looking too deep into publishing. It became both an easy answer and a hidden lie. The question still truly remains unanswered all these years later. Not because I don’t know what I would like to do, but because I lack the financial basis to pursue that dream.

If my storytelling became my day job, it would undoubtedly be an improvement in my employment situation, but it might also ruin the fun of building the dream. My recent realization concerning this predicament came as I reflected on the upcoming 10th birthday of the dream. I will die writing and telling stories. But I prefer death from old age as opposed to starvation.

Where does that leave me 13 years after that experienced teacher's unanswered question? I honestly still don't know. What I'm looking for is something more akin to a freedom number, and that is difficult to attain. I keep teaching, and I keep writing. The real-life future remains fuzzy, while the future in the dream only appears veiled in shadows. But my perspective has changed.

I have relinquished a mistaken borrowed dream which I accidentally acquired while studying self-publishing. Ten years into the dream, and as often as I discover another part of the story, I also seem to reveal another truth along the journey. What I need is financial independence. The question that remains is, how to gain it?

For the foreseeable future, I'm keeping the day job and working toward creating an income stream which would allow me the option to play with my books rather that step onto the hamster wheel. I still hope to escape the daily grind, but my understanding of how that happens has shifted.

And now a word from our sponsor, Ophelia Kee.

Shameless Self Promotion

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Welcome to the dream…

Behind the Scenes

Gryphon Knight Redeemed Book Quote Extras

I won't bore you with too many details here about all the additions to the Druid Dominion Miniseries now that Gryphon Knight Redeemed has been published as a book, but most all the extras have arrived. Story-art and music will appear on OpheliaKee.com soon. The muse is keen to continue this miniseries, so look for episodes of Dragon Medicine to appear soon!

For more details about what's new in the Draoithe Saga, check out the Draoithe Saga News. It posts each weekend with updates about all the new content in any miniseries. For random daily musings and updates, follow me on Substack Notes. If you never want to miss any of the shenanigans that this old tiger gets involved in, subscribe and read it all as I write, edit, and publish.

5 Ways to Help an Author Poster

Thank you for stepping into the dream once more. If you are listening on YouTube, don't forget to like and subscribe for more original stories and audio adventures! Special thanks to @OkMusicWriters for Enter The Dream. I need to get back to editing and crafting videos and music. Leave your comments and questions. I'd love to hear from you. If you found this post worthy, please feel free to share it. I hope you have a lovely weekend and will discover a grand story. Please remember when you read, be kind and leave your reviews. Until my next post, welcome to the dream…

Be Careful!

Happy Reading,

Bye-Bye,

Ophelia Kee

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