I am pursuing a career in teaching because of my desire to make a difference in my community. I always thought I could only make a difference if I worked in a hospital until my senior year internship class. My advisor was going to set me up with the social worker at an elementary school two blocks away, but I ended up in classrooms. I was nervous at first when I was told I would be helping early childhood and second-grade classes. On my first day, I fell in love with the idea of becoming a teacher. Early childhood was fun yet fulfilling. Since I volunteered with nonverbal and autistic children, it was rewarding to have the kids want to sit by me, listen to me, or even smile and laugh. I did find that second-grade is my dream grade to teach. I built the strongest relationships with that class and they are still very engaged in their education. After a week of volunteering, I decided I wanted to add more to my week. I ended up gaining a third and fourth-grade class. Both of these classes gave me a new aspect of teaching because they became in-depth academically. The most important role I played in the older grades was helping the students who were behind. I even had other students thank me for helping their friend who could only read and spell a few words. One memory that I always think about was a conversation I had with a third-grade student about her father dying. She felt comfortable enough with me to bring that conversation to the table and ask for help. Even though those questions are hard to answer and difficult conversations to have in general, I was happy that I made enough of an impact for her to come to me for help. It made me realize that not every experience as a teacher will be education-related and not all effects I have on students will be academic. Overall, the feeling of those children being so excited to see me is something I can never forget. I want to be able to have that feeling for the rest of my life and as long as I will teach. I am happy I found my passion in life and realized my overall goal is to make a difference in my future students' lives academically and be there for them emotionally.