It began in the 5th grade. I had transferred to a small charter school after being homeschooled for 4 years, and I loved it. I especially loved the things my teacher would do to get his students more excited about school; we had bank accounts that grew when we behaved, we wrote creative stories and shared them with the class, and we were rewarded with giant donuts when we remembered to write our names on our assignments. It was the little things, I think, that ignited a desire within me to teach.

That desire, however, did not last very long. In the 8th grade I decided I would rather become a nurse. I supposed that becoming a nurse would be a faster process, it would have more benefits, and that it would be more exciting. For many years -  nearly all the way through high school - I planned on becoming something that I knew would not make me truly happy. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I came to realize  there was no career choice so perfect for me as teaching. I saw the impact my own teachers had on my life, and from that I realized being a teacher is taking on one of the most important jobs on earth: preparing children for the future. By the time I graduated from high school I knew that teaching was my calling beyond a shadow of a doubt.

I chose to major in elementary education because I feel the most crucial developmental period for a child is elementary school. With these children being so impressionable and open to learning, I feel that I will have a greater ability to influence my students rather than teaching students of higher grade levels. Furthermore, my goal as a teacher is to positively impact my students to the furthest extent in hopes that they will apply what they learn to who they are as individuals and what they will accomplish in this world.