Option 1: Relationships & Impact Like most people, I have encountered struggles throughout my life. As my mom tells it, I struggled from the day I was born, whether it was extreme GERD that required countless bibs and changes of clothes throughout the day as an infant, the emergence of food allergies as a toddler, or wearing braces on my feet to correct my gait as a child, it was always something. I am not really sure why I began to develop mental health struggles as a child, but I experienced my first inpatient stay at a mental health facility when I was eight years old, and things just seemed to snowball from there. Diagnoses of ADHD, Autism, Sensory Integration Disorder, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and finally, a complex tic disorder as a teenager all seemed to pile on in a never-ending avalanche of mountains I had to climb just to appear "normal". When I list it all out like that, it seems like a lot for one kid to manage, and I will admit that it was not always easy. But I had my mom, and that made all the difference in the world. My mom knew from an early age that I was going to face many challenges, and she decided she would never let the limitations others might impose on me define who I was. She tried and tried to teach me to ride a bike, but I just couldn't get it. Others told her it was okay and that I didn't need to ride a bike, but I wanted to. So she figured out how to help me. I eventually went to occupational therapy to gain that skill, and it was about two years later than the other kids, but I did it. And that is just who my mom is. She approached every new situation with the mindset that I COULD do it, we just had to figure out how. We were told that I might never drive, hold a steady job, or manage my own finances. When you hear those things as a young person, it tends to impact your ability to see yourself as successful. But for my mom, those things weren't roadblocks; they were just hills we had to climb one step at a time. I got my driver's license at 16, have worked at the same job for over two years, and am now a supervisor, and manage all of my money on my own; I even have a credit card that she is teaching me how to use responsibly. For my job, I teach swim lessons, lifeguard, and am a Deck Supervisor at the Goldfish Swim School. Additionally, I manage birthday parties, our swim meets, and oversee family swim. At Goldfish Swim School, we refer to students with special needs as "golden students". At my location, if possible, my managers place all of the golden students with me as their teacher, and I am known as the "golden student whisperer". I love working with kids with special needs because I can always see their potential, and I never assume they can't do something. I learned that from my mom. It has always just been my mom and me, as my father moved away before I was born. But I wouldn't have it any other way, because I would not be who I am today, with a great future ahead of me, without her. She taught me how to spend time with people and get to know who they are inside and not just how they might appear on the outside. She taught me how to persevere, how to show up for the people you love, and how to live my life to its fullest.

I come from a family of teachers and I have been able to see, first hand, how important it is that kids have good teachers. Teachers can be very influential in a young person's life and it is important that students have teachers who not only care about the content they are teaching, but also about the students themselves. The world today is a complicated, confusing, and sometimes scary place and schools and teachers should be a safe place for young people. My mom is now and administrator, but she taught Latin for 15 years and I was able to see how much her students meant to her and how much she meant to her students. She taught them the Latin language, but also so much more than that. She taught them how to navigate the world, learn responsibility, and form relationships. She taught them that it is ok to fail and how to work toward success, even when it's hard. Now as an administrator, I see how much love she has for the kids in her school. She cries for their struggles and cheers their successes. She is invested in who they are as people and wants to help them become the best people that they can be. My aunt created an alternative school in Texas for kids that had a hard time in a traditional school setting. She teaches the kids with mental health concerns, behavioral concerns, and who couldn't find a place at school. She is the safe space for those students and I have gotten to see how much her compassion, love, and passion for education has helped those students. I want to be those things for future students. I want to help them see their potential, overcome obstacles, and understand their worth in the world. As a teacher, I will be able to do all of those things and more. I want to teach social studies/history because not only do I love the content, I think it is important that people understand the past so that we can better shape our future. It is a cliche, but the line that says, "I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way" is 100% true. Each generation wants to do better and more than the one that came before them and if you don't education children with compassion and love, then we will never get farther than we are now. Educators have the power to change the world, one student at a time, and I want to be a part of that.