We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alyssa Sontag. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alyssa below.
Alyssa, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
For me, keeping my creativity alive is an active, ongoing practice. It’s especially vital now that my life includes the roles of social media content creator, teacher, and now a mom, actually feed my creativity in surprising ways. I try to leverage my professional and personal lives as content pillars, which ensures my creativity is constantly being exercised and refined. My creativity thrives because my roles are interwoven: the teacher brings narrative and structure, the mom brings efficiency and resourcefulness, and the content creator translates it all into relatable fashion and styling content.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
By day, I’m a middle school social studies teacher. I help young people connect with the world around them by exploring history, civics, and culture. There’s nothing like seeing students have that “aha!” moment when they realize how the past shapes their present.
Outside of school, I’m a content creator focused on fashion and styling, but I also share glimpses of my lifestyle like the reality of balancing a busy career, home life, and now, motherhood. My approach is rooted in authenticity. I only promote brands and products that I personally believe in, use, and would genuinely purchase. My goal is to make quality, confident style approachable and practical for a real life.
In both roles, my focus is on genuine connection. As a creator, it’s exciting to hear that my styling tips helped someone feel more confident, or that my lifestyle posts made someone feel less alone in their daily juggle. My brand isn’t about promoting an unattainable image; it’s about sharing practical style and real-life moments that resonate with people. Being a trusted resource is the most rewarding part of it all.
On a personal note, I have a big update: I welcomed my baby boy in August right before the school year started. I’ve been enjoying my maternity leave and learning this beautiful, challenging new role of motherhood. It’s been an incredible few months, but I’m also looking forward to my next transition. I’ll be returning to my classroom in November when my leave ends. I can’t wait to get back to my students and also bring a fresh perspective (and plenty of comfortable-yet-chic working mom styling ideas) to my content.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back, the most impactful areas in balancing a career as a teacher and a content creator are Authenticity, Time Management, and Real Connection.
When I started, I realized that trying to imitate other successful creators or project an impossibly perfect life was not only exhausting but also dishonest. I chose to focus on being authentically me: a busy individual navigating a real life. In both the classroom and online, success comes down to making a genuine, empathetic connection. As a social studies teacher, I need to meet students where they are. As a creator, I use my content to create and build those connections. Real life is demanding, and combining it with content creation and new motherhood requires ruthless efficiency. Time management, while practical, is the skill that protects my authenticity.
I’m a perfectionist at heart. My advice to anyone in the early stages of their journey is to learn when a post or a piece of content is valuable and genuine enough to share. Perfectionism is a time killer and can drowns out the real you at times. It’s better to consistently share real content than to occasionally share one overly polished piece that stressed you out.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am absolutely open to collaborating with businesses and brands! As my platform is rooted in authenticity, I focus on partnerships that genuinely align with my life and values. I look for folks whose products or services I can truly integrate and speak about with personal conviction. This is a chance for brands to be promoted by a voice that my audience trusts and relates to.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyfish
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