On Mother's Day of 2021, my brother passed away in a drunk driving accident at 23 years old, a week before my finals. My English teacher, Dr. T, was new to our school that year, and he was already a phenomenal teacher, but what he did for my family and me made me see him as an even better person. Dr. T was the first teacher I had emailed about the tragic loss of my brother, and immediately he responded with, "Do not worry about emailing any other teacher, I will take care of it. Be with your family." Not only did he take the time to do this for me, but he took the heartbreak off my hands, allowing me to not have to type the devastating email six more times. When we did my brother's celebration of life, Dr.T and his entire family showed up to pray over us and comfort my family. Dr.T also came with letters and flowers from every teacher I had ever been taught by at my school. Losing my brother at 15 has taught me so much. Not only has his loss taught me not to take things for granted, but it has also taught me that the people who are in your lives truly matter. This action of kindness and compassion from this teacher and all of those I've learned from truly made me realize how a teacher can play such a pivotal role in a student's life. Through years of ups and downs filled with emotion, I can not thank Dr.T enough for the encouragement he has given me in my life to keep striving for more. To this day, four years later, Dr. T and his family continue to check in on me and my family and show up in support. As a result of these events, I've always known I've wanted to be a teacher, but seeing firsthand how much a teacher can impact your life solidified my career choice even more. In my future classroom, I hope to be the teacher who impacts at least one of my future students' lives for the better. I hope to be their sense of comfort, home, and encouragement. I strive to be the teacher who will always care and support my students, no matter how the education system affects me or them. Through my everyday life, I try my hardest to support everyone. Since I was a little girl, seeing other individuals' success has made me so happy. It is such an odd thing to feel, too. Don't get me wrong, I am competitive and push myself, but the only person I am competitive with is me. I am hardest on myself because I believe that no one can push you harder than you. And that is why I became so excited and proud of other people's accomplishments in life, and want to support them as much as I can, because I never got that support until Dr. T. I hope to support each student that walks into my classroom. I want them to feel like they belong and that they are valued, and I will spend every day making sure that happens to at least one of my students.

The person who inspired me to become a teacher was my Sophomore year English teacher. On Mother's Day of 2021, my brother passed away in a drunk driving accident at 23 years old, a week before my finals. My English teacher, Dr. T, was new to our school that year, and he was already a phenomenal teacher, but what he did for my family and me made me see him as an even better person. Dr. T was the first teacher I had emailed about the tragic loss of my brother, and immediately he responded with, "Do not worry about emailing any other teacher, I will take care of it. Be with your family." Not only did he take the time to do this for me, but he took the heartbreak off my hands, allowing me to not have to type the devastating email six more times. When we did my brother's celebration of life, Dr.T and his entire family showed up to pray over us and comfort my family. Dr.T also came with letters and flowers from every teacher I had ever been taught by at my school. Losing my brother at 15 has taught me so much. Not only has his loss taught me not to take things for granted, but it has also taught me that the people who are in your lives truly matter. This action of kindness and compassion from this teacher and all of those I've learned from truly made me realize how a teacher can play such a pivotal role in a student's life. Through years of ups and downs filled with emotion, I can not thank Dr.T enough for the encouragement he has given me in my life to keep striving for more. To this day, four years later, Dr. T and his family continue to check in on me and my family and show up in support. As a result of these events, I've always known I've wanted to be a teacher, but seeing firsthand how much a teacher can impact your life solidified my career choice even more. In my future classroom, I hope to be the teacher who impacts at least one of my future students' lives for the better. I hope to be their sense of comfort, home, and encouragement. I strive to be the teacher who will always care and support my students, no matter how the education system affects me or them. Through my everyday life, I try my hardest to support everyone. Since I was a little girl, seeing other individuals' success has made me so happy. It is such an odd thing to feel, too. Don't get me wrong, I am competitive and push myself, but the only person I am competitive with is me. I am hardest on myself because I believe that no one can push you harder than you. And that is why I become so excited and proud of other people's accomplishments in life, and want to support them as much as I can. The reason being that I never got that support until Dr. T.

The person who had the most impact on my life to encourage me to work in education was my sophomore year English teacher. On Mother's Day of 2021, my brother passed away in a drunk driving accident at 23 years old, a week before my finals. My English teacher, Dr. T, was new to our school that year, and he was already a phenomenal teacher, but what he did for my family and me made me see him as an even better person. Dr. T was the first teacher I had emailed about the tragic loss of my brother, and immediately he responded with, "Do not worry about emailing any other teacher, I will take care of it. Be with your family." Not only did he take the time to do this for me, but he took the heartbreak off my hands, allowing me to not have to type the devastating email six more times. When we did my brother's celebration of life, Dr.T and his entire family showed up to pray over us and comfort my family. Dr.T also came with letters and flowers from every teacher I had ever been taught by at my school. Losing my brother at 15 has taught me so much. Not only has his loss taught me not to take things for granted, but it has also taught me that the people who are in your lives truly matter. This action of kindness and compassion from this teacher and all of those I've learned from truly made me realize how a teacher can play such a pivotal role in a student's life. Through years of ups and downs filled with emotion, I can not thank Dr.T enough for the encouragement he has given me in my life to keep striving for more. To this day, four years later, Dr. T and his family continue to check in on me and my family and show up in support. As a result of these events, I've always known I've wanted to be a teacher, but seeing firsthand how much a teacher can impact your life solidified my career choice even more. In my future classroom, I hope to be the teacher who impacts at least one of my future students' lives for the better. I hope to be their sense of comfort, home, and encouragement. I strive to be the teacher who will always care and support my students, no matter how the education system affects me or them. Through my everyday life, I try my hardest to support everyone. Since I was a little girl, seeing other individuals' success has made me so happy. It is such an odd thing to feel, too. Don't get me wrong, I am competitive and push myself, but the only person I am competitive with is me. I am hardest on myself because I believe that no one can push you harder than you. And that is why I become so excited and proud to see other people's accomplishments in life, and want to support them as much as I can. And the reason is that I never got that support until Dr. T.