Hi, and welcome back to another episode of Teachers in Transition! I'm Vanessa Jackson After over two decades in the classroom, I left teaching and worked in the staffing industry, and now I work for teachers helping them leave toxic situations in pursuit of a job that deserves them. It’s summer movie season, so all of my summer podcasts through Labor Day will be viewed through a lens of movies. Today’s episode is inspired when I was thinking about nicknames, and it’s is for anyone who’s ever felt a little bit too weird, a little bit too worn down, or a little bit too late to still matter. The Goonies. A beloved 80s movie classic about a group of kids that don’t seem to fit anywhere but with each other who lean into their weirdness to find treasure. The neighborhood, The Goon Docks, in Oregon, is being torn down and the wont’ be able to live near each other anymore. After breaking a picture they stumble upon a map that appears to lead to the treasure of local pirate legend, One Eyed Willie. (Seriously, what is an 80s movie without a whole lot of double entendre, right?) The kids get a wild idea that when they find they treasure, they can save their neighborhood and stay together. They add to their group along the way (I’m coming back to this later), but it another honored 80s trope that the will be in wild danger from a madcap, but conveniently inept family of criminals.
And most of these kids go by the nicknames – Mikey, Data, Chunk, Brand, Mouth, Stef, Andy. Sloth. In fact, a subtle differentiator in the movie is that anyone who is recognized by not-a-nickname is not a Goonie.
This set me off thinking about nicknames in general. At home, we’re often called by our full names- But out in the world? Things get shortened, reimagined, transformed. My dad, for example, was always "Michael" to family, "Mike" to friends, and at his job, they just used his last name. I think \ it’s pretty common for nicknames to be external to family. Comedian, Brad Upton has a whole thing about how our afflictions became our nicknames in the GenX era. I have a link in the show notes. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CeKuUGetR/
My parents specifically named me Vanessa because they didn’t want me to have a nickname. And I found myself in college, gigging as a musician in an all-girl band, playing in some dangerous venues, and going by just one letter: "V."
When my mother found out, she was horrified.
"Do you know what it does to me that I named you so you wouldn’t have a nickname, and now you’re going by a single letter?!"
And I said, "Well, Mom, if you’d like me to put my full name on the marquee so weird strangers can track me down, I’d be happy to do that. But I thought 'V' was safer."
She paused. "Never mind."
That memory cracks me up, but it also says something a little deeper: Nicknames carry weight. They say something about how we see ourselves and how others see us.
Sometimes, they’re sweet. Like how a few family members called me "Peepers" when I was little because I loved playing peekaboo. I still do, honestly, if there’s a baby or toddler around willing to engage with me.
There was a teacher I used to work with who always called me "Action." Just that. Nothing else. "Hey, Action. What’s up, Action?" I liked it. It felt like it had movement. Energy. Momentum. Like I could do hard things.
Other times, nicknames sting. Gen X knows what I mean. As mentioned earlier, we came from an era where your worst trait became your name. Wild go-karting accident and lost a hand? Welcome to your new life as "Lefty."
I’m sure many of you have stories. The mean names kids called you. The backhanded titles you picked up as a teacher. The ones that made you cry in your car after school.
But The Goonies used their nicknames as a source of strength. It gave them purpose and identity in what we now call ‘found family’ I envision these guys getting together for Friendsgivings activities with their own kids who can’t believe their parents did these wild things.
And As they remind each other in the movies Goonies never say die. They didn’t give up on each other. They were being chased by the Fratellis, but I don’t think they’d have given up on the adventure even with that extra incentive – they just didn’t give up on each other.
One of my favorite pieces of trivia in the movie is that they really built that boat in that cave – that’s not a model. When the kids saw that boat it was really for the first time they saw and that was really their reaction – well, mostly, one of the kids yelled out a very-not-appropriate-for-a-PG-movie-word even in the 80s, so that sound was removed.
The friendships feel very real in this movie. The Goonies bicker constantly. Mikey’s chasing legends. Mouth is stirring the pot. Data’s gadgets are malfunctioning. And poor Chunk is just trying to hold it together.
But here’s what makes their friendship powerful: they stay in the room.
They don’t bail when things get hard. They don’t ghost each other when someone gets scared. They argue and they show up. Again and again.
And maybe that’s the kind of teamwork we need to remember during a career pivot. You need your own team of Goonies - the kind of ride-or-die people who say, “I know you’re scared. I am too. But I’m not letting you give up., and I believe in you.”
Think about it:
- Mikey is the dreamer who keeps believing, even when the map feels fake. You need someone who believes in you no matter what.
- Data is the inventor who brings what he’s got - even if it’s duct tape and hope. You need someone who is willing to help you build things like strategies and resumes and will look for the weak points to help you make them stronger.
- Mouth says it like it is. You need someone who is willing to tell you hard truths with compassion when you need to hear them.
- Chunk went for help – he didn’t bring back the help they thought they were going to get, but he brought back the help they needed the most. You need someone who is willing to help you when you need it even if it’s not the help you expected
- Sloth is the Goonie who moved WAY beyond his perceived limitations to protect his new friends when things seemed at their darkest. He brought light and joy. You need someone who can bring you light and joy in the parts of the process where it seems dark and hopeless.
So if you’re building a new network, a new identity, or a new future—don’t wait for the perfect crew. Just start with the people who believe in you.
Because whether it’s a booby-trapped tunnel or just updating your resume at midnight, it’s better not to go alone.
So here’s a rabbit trail that snuck up on me—and I’m not mad about it.
As I rewatched The Goonies, (yes, homework for this podcast is a thing), I was reminded about another group of misfits from a movie I saw in theaters recently that weirdly mirrors the Goonies: Marvel’s The Thunderbolts.
I saw the Thunderbolts right before it left theaters and I am kind of glad I saw it by myself, because I did not expect a Superhero movie full of snark and sarcasm to have such a powerful lesson on mental health and friendship. I also have NO idea why my allergies acted up so much in the theater and made my eyes tear up, but there you have it. I realized that they’re the Goonies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I won’t talk much beyond that since it’s a relatively new movie. I have no problem throwing out spoilers for movies that are decades old, but not the new ones. It’s bad form (bonus points If you can name where that quote came from). But I highly recommend The Thunderbolts.
Back to Goonies - Now, stick with me.
The Goonies are kids the world has dismissed. Labeled. Underestimated. They’re side characters in their own neighborhoods. But when push comes to shove, they band together, lean into their quirks, and - through sheer determination and the strength of their oddball bond - they find the treasure.
But more importantly? They find value themselves that they didn’t realize they had in them.
The Thunderbolts are a grown-up version of that, but rougher around the edges. More cynical. They're ex-villains and anti-heroes stitched together by necessity, not by trust. They’ve been broken. Burned. Dragged through the mud.
But they showed up, and they’re there for each other when it mattered. They held on, and they didn’t let go.
And just like Chunk and Sloth - two misfits who exemplify the compassion of the Goonies - the Thunderbolts are full of reluctant, mismatched partnerships that somehow worked
What I love is this: Neither group is polished. No one’s coming in with clean resumes or perfect reputations.
They show up anyway.
That’s the lesson.
In your job hunt, in your reinvention, in your search for a new path - you do not need to be shiny. You do not need to be perfect. You just need to be, well, you.
Just like the Goonies. Just like the Thunderbolts.
Another favorite piece of trivia is that the actor who plays Data is all grown up now and recently won an Oscar for his role in the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once.” And you know who his lawyer is who helped negotiate that deal for him? That would be Jeff Cohen, or as we remember him: Chunk. Jeff grew up to be an entertainment lawyer. Never say die, indeed.
We’re going to make a little mission of sorts for you:
Think back on something someone once said about you that stuck. It might’ve been meant as a compliment… or maybe not. Maybe it was a nickname a student gave you that made you laugh. Or a throwaway comment from a colleague that lowkey lit a fire under you.
Maybe someone called you ‘the fixer.’’ Maybe a friend teased you for being ‘bossy’, but secretly, you knew that just meant you were destined to be in charge. Maybe it’s a nickname from a long time ago from a version of you that you miss.
Or maybe, like me, someone gave you a nickname that just felt right. Something that reminded you you’re not static. You’re not stuck. You’re someone in motion.
Whatever that thing is - grab it. Tuck it in your pocket. Try it on again. This will be more than a mere nickname. This becomes representative of the story you tell yourself, and we know how powerful these stories are.
Say it in your head. Write it on a sticky note. Whisper it when the Sunday Scaries show up.
Henry Ford had a saying I used a lot as a teacher – “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” I used to explain to my students that if you decided you could do something that your brain and soul would figure out how. Whenever an obstacle would appear, the brain would just start charting a path around it. If you decided you can’t do something, then your brain and your soul make that a certainty too. Even when the way is completely clear, the brain will create obstacles to block your way.
So, Take during the summer and really think about what it is that you want. See yourself doing it. Give that version of you a nick name, or think of it as a code name.
So hopefully you give yourself this nickname, or more accurately, a code name for yourself that validates who you want to be based on your values and dreams. And then look for all the evidence that exists everywhere that proves you were right the whole time. It’s there.
Just yesterday, I caught a glimpse at something I built well over a year ago. See, we had one of those yard swings, and the fabric dry-rotted, so the swing was garbage. But the FRAME was still good, so I hung on it. If it was sturdy enough to hold a couple of grown adults and a medium-sized dog, then I reasoned it was strong enough for one large dog.
The problem was that one of our large dogs simply would not allow her nails to be trimmed, so dog nails had become dragon claws. I added some chain rated for 500# and a kayak lift, bought a grooming harness and I have a very Rube Goldberg-looking contraption that allows the dogs nails to be easily clipped while suspended in the air (the dog, not the contraption)
I saw that and realized I was probably a Goonie too. And Goonies never say die.
The Goonies had each other. The Thunderbolts weren’t perfect, but they showed up for one another and wouldn’t let go. And you? I think you deserve a team too.
If this episode reminded you how powerful it is to not go it alone, maybe it's time to invite people to join your crew.
If you're piecing together a new career path…
If you need help naming your strengths (and not just your wounds)…
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start building…
Maybe if you need help figuring out that code name for the New You.
Transformation is hard - you don’t have to do it solo.
Meanwhile, if you want help figuring out that code name, you can book a call with me, or if that feels too much, I’ve created a little exercise to help you figure it out in a Google Doc. The link is in the show notes and you’re welcome to copy and share
Final Thoughts
Youa re not just a teacher in transition.
you are not ‘just’ a teacher.
You are a trailblazer, a spark, a strategist - a phoenix
You are brave, you are talented, and you are highly skilled.
You are not too weird.
You are not too late.
You are just in the middle of the story.
And maybe—just maybe—you’re one Baby Ruth moment away from realizing you’ve been the hero all along.
“The Goonies never said die. The Thunderbolts never said sorry. And you? You never have to give up.”
That’s the podcast for today! If you liked this podcast, tell a friend, and don’t forget to rate and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Tune in weekly to Teachers in Transition where we discuss Job Search strategies as well as stress management techniques. And I want to hear from you! Please reach out and leave me a message at Vanessa@Teachersintransition.com You can also leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099.
I’ll see you here again next week and remember – YOU are amazing!
