Sarah Styf – Writer

My Story

I started teaching high school English in 2002 on the far south side of Chicago. Since then, my classroom has changed multiple times, but my love for teaching writing hasn’t. And the better I’ve gotten as a writing instructor, the better I’ve become as a writer, using the lessons I’m teaching my teenage students in my own writing as well.

I first started blogging eleven years ago when we moved from Indianapolis to Fort Wayne. About a year after we moved and halfway through my graduate program, it dawned on me that it might be time to start writing about all of the renovations that we had been making on the house we purchased as a foreclosure. I mostly did it for me, but with the glut of foreclosures on the market because of the housing crisis, I was pretty sure others could share in our miseries and triumphs.

As we prepared for the move from the Midwest to Texas, it was time for a new blog to highlight the new phase in my life. I wanted to focus on the unexpected journey that is my life. I moved from my Blogger site to WordPress and enjoyed writing there for six more years.

Now we have moved back to Indianapolis, coming full circle. I started writing on Substack to give a dedicated place to each of my favorite genres. I want to live a great story, and this is the place where I write about it. You can also follow me on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook, where you will find additional pictures, commentary, and stories to fill out the narrative you find here.