No! Really? It can't be!

When I decided to resign from my job, I made a point to tell my students of my decision. I felt they deserved to hear the news from me directly rather than through the grapevine. It's hard to control this type of news once you tell one person, and I thought I was able to share the news with most of them before they heard it from someone else.

When I met with one of my teams, a small group of women, I made a point to tell them that I was not leaving my job because of some unexpected, unplanned pregnancy. I repeated to them, "I am not pregnant." I had anticipated that some people would think this because to some my decision to leave seemed sudden. Some people couldn't understand why I would up and leave in the middle of an academic year. "Well, Carol clearly must be pregnant. Why else would she leave now? Right?"

No, actually, quite wrong.

I repeat. I am not pregnant. I never have been. I think I would know if this is the case.

You may ask why I bring this up now . Well, I talked to my friend Bridget yesterday. She told me that she spoke with a woman who works in another office on campus; this woman thought I left because I was pregnant. Thankfully, Bridget dispelled the rumor. I anticipated this would happen, which is why I made it a point to tell my students I wasn't planning for a baby all those weeks ago.

Unfortunately for the gossip hounds, there's no scandal here. I wasn't attacked on some random street corner in Memphis. No one pulled a gun on me. I wasn't robbed or mugged. I didn't sleep with any students. I'm not running away from someone. And I'm certainly not pregnant.

I'm basically just a 27-year-old trying to find a job that allows me to have the life I want in a place I love. Why is that so hard to understand? Why do people always want there to be some drama?