Write of Passage Weekly - When Elon Musk Becomes Your Boss

There are two days left to enroll in Write of Passage Cohort 11. Join us on October 2 to start sharing your ideas online and unlocking the serendipity of the Internet.

Hey writers,

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The Internet is a Serendipity Vehicle.

For proof, look no further than Ana Lorena Fabrega.

Ana went from being a frustrated, underpaid elementary school teacher to a published author and the Chief Evangelist at Synthesis, an Elon Musk-backed school — all because of a Twitter DM.

Like I said. Serendipity. 

Now, you might be thinking: “That’s great and all, but this transformation could never happen for me.” 

But I’m here to tell you the truth. I’ve seen the Internet work its magic a thousand times over — in my own life, and in the lives of my students. This is the exact kind of transformation waiting for you. And Ana’s story will show you how to make it happen. 

Ana always dreamed of being a teacher.

She loved kids, she loved learning, and she loved helping kids learn. At NYU, she got a degree in childhood education and special-ed. And at 23, she got a classroom of her own. Living the dream! 

Except, teaching didn’t turn out to be what she thought. A one-size-fits-all curriculum constrained both her and the kids. Bureaucracy squashed their creativity. She felt trapped in a system that desperately needed reform.

Year after year, Ana watched her kids lose their love of learning. And it broke her heart. Ana felt voiceless. She was full of ideas for the future of childhood education, but the only thing she could change was the color scheme of her classroom.

So, she did something she never thought she’d do. Five years in, Ana quit her job as a teacher. 

Can you imagine quitting your dream career — the one you have a degree in, the one you’ve told your friends about, the one you’ve pursued for your entire life? That’s terrifying. It takes courage. And that’s what Ana did.

She knew she could make an impact outside the classroom, and help kids fall in love with learning again. Her master plan? 

Well, she didn’t have one.

In 2019, she discovered Write of Passage. Was this the ticket to finding her voice? She was bursting with ideas she wanted to share with the world — so, Ana signed up for the next cohort. 

She had no clue how much her life was about to change. 

Write of Passage inspired Ana to set up her website, log back on to Twitter, and publish her first newsletter. She had one goal: change the way people think about education. 

Like all of us, she started with a handful of newsletter subscribers. But can you guess who was one of them? 

Chrisman Frank, co-founder and CEO of the Elon Musk-backed school, Synthesis. 

Can you hear that serendipity sizzling?

Synthesis is an online school that stands for everything traditional education does not. There’s a flexible curriculum and no bureaucracy. Kids are encouraged to collaborate with each other, think for themselves, and build real-world skills like problem-solving and communication. 

In other words, Synthesis is perfectly aligned with Ana’s vision for the future of education.

More people on the Internet started noticing Ana’s ideas. She even had one Tweet go viral.

4,100 retweets. 21,000 likes. Hundreds of new email subscribers. 

"Write of Passage made me realize there's an audience for what I write," she said.

But it didn’t stop there. Frank DM’d Ana and offered her a job. Ana joined Synthesis as Chief Evangelist and started blazing her new path for childhood education. 

In just one year, Ana’s trajectory completely changed.

Writing online gave Ana her voice. Now, she’s achieved her lifelong goal of becoming a teacher — and it’s better than she ever dreamed.

Plus, the serendipity train hasn’t stopped for Ana. 

She landed a publishing deal with Harriman House. This month, she published her first book, The Learning Game.

If you’re ready to invite serendipity into your life and start living out your dreams, join us for Write of Passage Cohort 11, which will run from October 2 to November 8. There are two days left to enroll.

Ask yourself, what could writing online do for you?

Here’s to the start of your writing journey,

David

P.S. Guess who wrote the forward for Ana’s book? Yours truly. 

For more stories like Ana's, check out this video featuring our alumni.