Monday Moments: The Choice To Start Anew

Introduced By Amber Hall

We’re continuing to look at ‘Choices’ as our theme for this month, and I’ve been thinking about the idea of choosing to start again.

Fresh starts can take many forms and, often, they can completely change the course of our lives. They put us on a different path, whether related to our careers, relationships or, indeed, creative pursuits. It’s a brave thing, to choose to start again, but we’ve all done it in one way or another.

Last year, I chose a career in the non-profit sector and, while I’m still working in communications, my day-to-day looks different. It’s a setting I instinctively feel more comfortable in, and I know I’ve made the right choice for me. Right now, I support a charity called Dress for Success Greater London and here, I see women choosing to start again every day. The charity supports women into the workplace by providing them with the professional clothing, workplace development tools and ongoing support they need to secure and maintain gainful employment. The women we serve come from all walks of life, the majority have endured unimaginable challenges, and their stories of strength and resilience are truly inspirational.

March marks the start of Women’s History Month and, with International Women’s Day coming up on 8 March, it’s a good time to honour women’s stories of tenacity and transformation. These events shed light on the crucial work of people, communities and organisations – like ‘Dress For Success Greater London’ – that actively work towards creating a fairer, more equitable future.

The pieces I’ve selected for my page celebrate the extraordinary lives of women, and the choice to forge ahead on new paths.

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First, Andrea Cunha reflects on balancing motherhood and a career, all while inspiring wisdom and empathy in generations to follow.

Where Work Meets Affection: Balancing Both Is Possible, While Still Leading By Example

While walking in the park this morning, I found myself thinking about my children and their professional journeys. The air was cool and damp and the scent of wet grass immediately transported me back to their childhood. A sweet memory of the past washed over me: a time when I, a mother of three boys, faced the triple burden of working as a teacher. Far from my extended family, with a husband who was always away on business, I was caught in the dilemma of trying to be a good professional, a good mother, and a dedicated homemaker. I can honestly say it nearly cost me my health because, as much as we strive to be perfect, perfection does not exist.

I know many women reading this will identify with my story. Sometimes, it feels almost unfair to have to choose between a career and motherhood. But is it possible to balance both? I would say yes, but you must be willing to pay a heavy price.

I remember many difficult, yet rewarding, moments. One was when we lived in an indigenous village. I taught in two different communities that were quite far apart, and I had to split myself between my children and my professional and domestic chores. So, as you can imagine, eight hours of sleep was a forgotten luxury. I went to bed late and woke up very early. First, I had to prepare food for my children, wash school uniforms, and check rucksacks to ensure their supplies were ready, all while packing snacks for them and myself. Time would fly and, before I knew it, it was midnight. I had to be up again at three am to prepare my lesson plans and breakfast so the boys could be ready by six for their seven am start. You can only imagine the routine!

That period in the village was my greatest laboratory of resilience. On days when the children had no school, but I had to work, I had to be creative. How many times did I set off with a rucksack on my back, a child in my arms, the middle one holding my hand, and the eldest helping me carry fruit, a mat, water and snacks? They would spend the day with me while I worked. It was an hour-long trek through the forest – a beautiful and inspiring setting. I taught Portuguese and History at the school, but on the path there and back, I taught them about the strength of life, about nature, hard work* and, above all, the importance of presence. They weren’t just accompanying me: they were living my mission.

You might wonder how I managed the housework. The truth is, I didn’t. I cleaned because I considered hygiene a priority, but the clutter was eternal – notebooks and books were scattered everywhere. My eldest, who helped with the chores, used to complain that nothing was ever in its place. He would grumble, saying he would never become a teacher because he didn’t want a messy desk covered in books.

However, taking them to work with me allowed me to see their potential; they were already showing signs of the careers they would eventually follow. Seeing them thriving now, I realise how important it was to demonstrate love and dedication to my work. I wanted to be a good professional, but I also wanted to be a mother to my three boys. The solution was to include them in my professional routines, making them part of it and seizing every opportunity to teach lessons that would be valuable in the future.

Today, I have a sense of mission accomplished. Those ‘tours’ of my workplace shaped them as people and professionals. Each of them, in their own way, excelled in something nurtured by the environment they grew up in. The eldest, who swore he would never be a teacher, became a social scientist and, believe it or not, his desk is just as messy as mine! The second son dedicated himself to studying, photography and documenting village life and culture. And the youngest decided to study Forestry Engineering to help conserve the woods that were part of our daily commute from one village to another.

All that hard work and dedication as both a mother and a teacher bore fruit. I used every moment to educate them the best way I could. I always told them, and I tell my students too: “Whatever you learn, pass it on. Help others. Dedicate yourself to voluntary work. And, most importantly, allow your knowledge to transform lives.” Only then can we build a better world. Do not wait for others to act: start yourself. Lead by example, even if it starts within your own family and spans generations. We need competent professionals, yes, but we also need them to be more human.

© Andrea Cunha, 2026

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Next, poet J.Catherine Tetrault reflects on paths taken, lessons learned and a forward momentum.

What’s Right In Front Of Me

With each cautious step
heeding
what’s right in front of me

Snow dusts thick, slick ice
moving
with each cautious step

Dogged focus on my feet
missing
what’s right in front of me

Spikes slip, arms flail
steadying
with each cautious step

Tactics turn, another path
learning
what’s right in front of me

Too late, I didn’t see
until the ice near swallowed me
with each cautious step
what was right in front of me

© J.Catherine Tetrault, 2026

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In this prose piece, Jilly Henderson-Long writes about creative decisions and new writerly pursuits. I believe different writing projects open up new paths for us, and Jilly captures this idea beautifully.

Fresh Start – Trying Non-Fiction 

Writing, and being a writer, has lots of facets – rather like a diamond. I’ve been keeping a diary for over 50 years, starting at just 15, while I was still at school. My first paid article was published at 16, in a supernatural publication called Fate & Horoscope Magazine. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to publish hundreds of other articles about anything from ghosts on the doorstep, to fashion, to so-called ‘vanity’ publishers (having been stung at the age of 12 by one of those), and everything in between. My real ambition, though, always lay in stories and poetry, particularly for children. That’s where I worked hardest, learning as I went along about content, characterisation, scene setting, building atmosphere, and keeping the readers interested. In many ways, I’m still learning!

At the moment, though, I’m kind of hovering. I have a non-fiction book in mind that’s been on the back burner of my brain since the start of the new millennium. Two drafts have already been written. I know who its target audience is. I’ve done stacks of research. I’m positive even now that it plugs a massive gap in the market, plus I’ve built up lots of good, practical experience in the subject matter. The question I keep asking myself is: What’s holding me back?

Even writers have comfort-zones, I guess. It’s not as if I’m new to the prospect of writing non-fiction, as my many published articles have proved. Yet something keeps nudging my shoulder and saying: No, don’t do it. I wonder why that is? I suppose it could be a fear of failure. Poetry and children’s stories have brought me many achievements over the years, and the joy of holding my first published book in my own hands is as fresh and exciting now as it was back in 2007, when the first Yucketypoo book appeared.

Despite the fact I know my non-fiction book could lay paving stones for generations to come, I also know that world-wide fame and fortune have completely eluded me, which then begs the question: Am I the right person to be doing this? I have no formal qualifications, except for an O-level pass in English literature. I could not go to college or university and get a degree in Creative Writing. Will publishers look at my manuscript, chuckle, shake their heads and say: “Just who does she think she is?”

I know that, if I want to see this book published, I’m going to have to overcome my fears and doubts and just get on with it. But, of course, we all know that’s easier said than done!

© Jilly Henderson-Long, 2026

Connect with Jilly on Instagram: @jillyhendersonlong

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In this original artwork, titled Girl and created by Julie Dexter, we are privy to the writer’s process.

Connect with Julie on Instagram: @latenightswimmer

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Finally, we have a poem by Palak Tewary, who writes about her multi-faceted experience as both a writer and businesswoman. It serves as a powerful reminder that women’s lives are vast and varied, and that true equality means thinking beyond labels and boxes.

What’s In A Fresh Start? 

To draft strategies by day and stories by night,
build forecasts in spreadsheets and worlds in sentences,
from numbers to narratives, from boardroom to blank page;
each shift – an expansion of thought, reach and senses.

Expansion of voice that can calculate, lead and teach,
of women who know they are more than one lane,
of minds that can quantify risk and return, yet still let imagination burn,
more than one title and more than one domain.

Moving from one to other feels like a flame,
a closing of doors with deliberate art,
a bold declaration, a renaming of aim,
a widening horizon, a braver heart.

Yet fresh starts are not only forged in the leap,
they live in the rhythm of everyday choice,
not only in risks that are daring and deep,
in moments that strengthen direction and voice.

In each new morning that asks you to plan,
to lead with intention, to steady your hand,
to answer an email with sharper command,
to redraw a boundary, to reframe a stand.

A fresh start can whisper in ordinary air,
in letting go softly of what drains your flame,
in how you prepare, in what you declare,
in stepping toward growth without fear of the name.

For women, who balance precision and art,
who speak with their numbers yet write from the heart,
each pivot is power, each pause is a claim,
that growth is not random – it’s chosen, it’s smart.

To draft strategies by day and stories by night
is more than a shift – it’s a statement of sight:
that logic and longing can live in one frame,
and every new choice is a fresh start ignite.

© Palak Tewary, 2026

Connect with Palak online at: www.palaktewary.com and Instagram: @palaktewary

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Issue 27, featuring Sarah Westcott is out now. You will find it in libraries and other outlets. Alternatively, all current and previous editions can be found on our magazines page here.

You can hear great new ideas, creative work and writing tips on Write On! Audio. Find us on all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Google Podcasts and Spotify. Type Pen to Print into your browser and look for our logo, or find us on Podcasters.Spotify.com.

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