As a kid, I despised school. A lot of my memories can be chalked up to my mother having to physically drag me out of our minivan at the crack of dawn, and haul me into the school building before I could spend any more time crafting up fake illnesses and elaborately planned ailments to get out of going. I was always told my problem that I wasn’t being challenged enough, and that I was bored. My parents liked to put me on a pedestal in terms of my academics, so their answer to this predicament was to take me out of public school and put me back into the private school they had previously taken me out of. I didn’t know how to express to them at the time that the problem wasn’t the curriculum, it was me. I didn’t loathe school because of the teachers, or even because of the content I was learning. But hating school because of how lost I felt. Times when my brain seemed unable to keep up with my peers. I didn’t understand that not every child learned the same; I just felt like I was too dense to get along with the program. When I came to realize that I wanted a career in education, I laughed at myself. The kid that spent his youth complaining about school and avoiding it like the plague, wanted to commit to a job that would keep him in the classroom, presumably for the rest of his life. The irony was humorous, and it still is. I didn’t really understand why I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I tried to convince myself with logic that I wouldn’t go through with it. I cringed at the poor pay teachers get compared to their heavy workload and societal importance. I reflected on some of my former teachers who seemingly loathed their jobs after decades of investment. I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t nearly smart enough to do all of what a teacher should. But I could never truly fool myself into thinking that I didn’t feel a strong sense of motivation and purpose that outweighed the risks and cons. I want to remain in the classroom setting. I want to foster an environment for students to be able to grow and learn in. I want to instruct the future generations and help them build their minds and prepare them for their next steps. I wish to clarify, to adapt, to innovate for the children who feel as if they’re behind, and teach them to do the same in order to remain confident in themselves and their intelligence. No child should ever fall through the cracks, or not receive the help they require to advance; not just as students in the school system, but as individuals. Children are people with the most room and power to grow up, extraordinary and pure minds that will dictate our future, yet are scarily rarely treated as such. It’s my dream to ensure they are.

As a kid, I despised school. A lot of my memories can be chalked up to my mother having to physically drag me out of our minivan at the crack of dawn, and haul me into the school building before I could spend any more time crafting up fake illnesses and elaborately planned ailments to get out of going. I was always told my problem that I wasn’t being challenged enough, and that I was bored. My parents liked to put me on a pedestal in terms of my academics, so their answer to this predicament was to take me out of public school and put me back into the private school they had previously taken me out of. I didn’t know how to express to them at the time that the problem wasn’t the curriculum, it was me. I didn’t loathe school because of the teachers, or even because of the content I was learning. But hating school because of how lost I felt. Times when my brain seemed unable to keep up with my peers. I didn’t understand that not every child learned the same; I just felt like I was too dense to get along with the program. When I came to realize that I wanted a career in education, I laughed at myself. The kid that spent his youth complaining about school and avoiding it like the plague, wanted to commit to a job that would keep him in the classroom, presumably for the rest of his life. The irony was humorous, and it still is. I didn’t really understand why I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I tried to convince myself with logic that I wouldn’t go through with it. I cringed at the poor pay teachers get compared to their heavy workload and societal importance. I reflected on some of my former teachers who seemingly loathed their jobs after decades of investment. I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t nearly smart enough to do all of what a teacher should. But I could never truly fool myself into thinking that I didn’t feel a strong sense of motivation and purpose that outweighed the risks and cons. I want to remain in the classroom setting. I want to foster an environment for students to be able to grow and learn in. I want to instruct the future generations and help them build their minds and prepare them for their next steps. I wish to clarify, to adapt, to innovate for the children who feel as if they’re behind, and teach them to do the same in order to remain confident in themselves and their intelligence. No child should ever fall through the cracks, or not receive the help they require to advance; not just as students in the school system, but as individuals. Children are people with the most room and power to grow up, extraordinary and pure minds that will dictateour future, yet are scarily rarely treated as such. It’s my dream to ensure they are.