When Life Changes Your Plans: Grief, Resilience, and Starting Over with Lizzie Semmer
Judging MeghanShow Notes
In this episode, I sit down with Lizzie Semmer, a former pre K teacher who left the classroom and started a new chapter of her life in Portugal. Lizzie shares what it was like growing up between Chicago and Manhattan Beach with a father who worked in Hollywood, and how she eventually began her own career in entertainment, working with her father. After years in the industry, she followed a calling into teaching and spent a decade working with young children before the demands and exhaustion of the post COVID classroom led her to make the difficult decision to walk away.
Lizzie also opens up about losing her father to stage four cancer at just 55 and the profound impact his illness and death had on her. Afterward, genetic testing revealed that she carried the same cancer related mutations, leading to ongoing screenings and the removal of a benign colon mass. We talk about grief, the communities that supported her through some of her hardest moments, and the signs she felt along the way, including receiving her Portugal visa on September 11, a date that held deep personal meaning for her.
Today, Lizzie is building a quieter life in Portugal while working in the travel industry and embracing the uncertainty that comes with starting over. Her story is a beautiful reminder that sometimes life forces us to change direction before we are ready, but a new chapter can still hold meaning, purpose, and hope. We talk about grief, resilience, trusting yourself, and finding the courage to create a life that feels more aligned with who you are.
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