vipkid gave me my life back

 By Hope Williams
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Single mother.  
In debt.
Over-committed.
Fatigued.
​Out of options.

That was me.   And I couldn't stand the thought of punching the clock another day.  I hated my job.  I resented my lack of freedom and options.  I wanted more than to just survive.  

"Some people just don't get to choose," I thought.  

My life from now on would be going to work every day, clocking in , clocking out, rushing home to throw some food at my kids, seeing that homework gets done and then hopefully tumbling into bed.  I was trying to come to terms with the fact that this was it for me.  My destiny.  It wouldn't change.

I had tried being in business for myself, but the monetary and physical investment it had required had drained me.  I didn't have the heart to try the familiar routes.  I'm not the type to peddle candles to my friends or host sales parties.  Work from home schemes seemed fishy at best.  "Work from your smartphone.  Get paid to watch t.v."   

Wasn't there any honest work I could do without selling my soul?

I came across VIPKID and at some point I must have put in an application and then forgot about it.  Next thing I knew, this unknown company in China was wanting me to schedule an interview.  I thought I'd try it because, after all, what did I have to lose?  Along the way, I remember thinking that the on-boarding might not be worth it.  I wasn't certain this was a "real job" or that I'd make anywhere near what I was hearing about.  I thought about just "letting it go."  Again, for some reason, I scheduled my mock class.  

A year and a half later,  I have been happily building my VIPKID business.   I have my life back.  I am free to work as I see fit.  I have very little interaction with Headquarters.  I just do my job and get paid.  I have found lovely friends in the VIPKID community who support me and offer inspiration every day.  When life gets tough, I lighten my schedule to deal with it.  When I need extra income, I ramp up my teaching hours.  I schedule travel when I want to and decide whether I'll teach on location or take days off.  When I finish my classes, I often think, "I could have done more of those."  And I may, whenever I want.  

VIPKID has been more than just a great-paying job for me.  It does more for me than just allowing me to work from home or travel.  Every day I spend one on one time with dedicated and lovely students who inspire and validate me for all the strengths I always knew I had.  I am back!  I have my life back along with all the joys and freedom that I thought was not for me.

My world has grown since I started with VIPKID, and I have grown with it.  
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Hope Williams is creator of Ling Lab Global where she supports teachers in language instruction and online classroom best practice.  Her blog is Ling Lab Global.  She can be found on twitter, instagram , and YouTube.  Her VIPKID applicant support page is on facebook.