Sabrina Carpenter has been with me my entire life. I feel as though we have grown up together. From my childhood to now, my transition into adulthood, she has been a model of confidence, girlhood, strength, femininity, and simply happiness. As a child I, of course, watched her in Girl Meets World. Maya was such an inspiring and empowering character to see when I was growing up. She showed me what a true, loving, and committed friendship looks like and the actions and effort it takes to keep one. In the show, Maya and Riley had their differences and complications, as all middle schoolers would, but they always solved their issues in a mature and truly caring way. The way that Maya always put Riley as her number one priority gave me an outline of how to love someone so greatly. Not only did I appreciate her acting as a kid, but I also listened to songs like “Can’t Blame a Girl for Trying”, “Your Love’s Like”, and “Fall Apart.” These three songs led me to get in touch with the romantic side of my personality. The music and lyrics are all filled with childlike wonder of romance and first crushes and first loves. Being a singer myself, these songs were also favorites of mine because they were (and still are) super fun to sing. As I got older, Sabrina Carpenter stuck with me. One of my all-time favorite movies to watch is “Work It” on Netflix. I love to dance and perform, so this film gives me all the emotions. Sabrina Carpenter’s character, Quinn, resonates with me because I have always seen myself as an awkward person, but dance really shakes me out of my own tension and worries. Sabrina’s more recent music is potentially more relevant and helpful to me now than ever. Songs like “Almost Love”, “Fast Times”, and “Nonsense” have been empowering to women, including myself, about the naturality of sexuality and desire. However, her songs cover all sorts of topics that can be relevant to girls everywhere. This is including, but not limited to family issues, heartbreak, fear, teenage drama, and self-confidence. All of which I, and many other young women, have experienced in our lifetime. Sabrina Carpenter’s impact on women in our world is extremely important. Her music, acting, and even her own posts on social media make us feel seen and heard. I am, and always will be, a Sabrina Carpenter superfan.

People tend to think of a leader as someone who is fierce and strong. There is a societally misled thought that the one who could lead in a battle is the one to be in charge. However, this is entirely untrue and a potentially harmful perspective to have. A good leader should be understanding, kind, calm and collected, and well balanced. A leader needs to be the sort of middleman that no person is afraid to share their own opinion to in fear of being persecuted. Additionally, a leader needs to have a solid ground and vision for where they want to go, and the direction in which they want to lead others. I never chose to be a leader. I never even really tried to be. Even at a young age my friends would always look up to me and see me as the positive example they set for themselves. As I got older, I took hold of this ability I had to grab people's attention with my kind actions and words, and my positive outlook on life in every situation. So, I thought to myself about the kind of person I wanted the people I care for to look up to, and without changing my who I am, I adjusted and secured certain behaviors within myself to set myself, and them up for success. An example of this is making sure that I practice simple everyday acts of kindness such as holding the door for a stranger or smiling to them as I pass by. I make it a point in my head to do those, and similar actions as often as I possibly can. Not only does it set off a subconscious reminder to be kind in my friends or family that I am with, but it also gives the community around me a sense of hope for kindness in the world. Any person whom the world needs more of, has the ability to be a good leader. Every person will notice someone who isn't seen often enough. They are a blessing to the world and the communities in which they take part in. A big action to try and make a difference in the world is important, but simply kind repeated actions that may seem small and of little effort, can really change yourself, your community, and over time change the world and everyone in it.

All my life I dreamed of being a teacher. I vividly remember the teachers I had growing up that truly made an impact on my experience in school. They were always so kind and knew how to make a group of students feel comfortable, even on the first day of school. It was in these moments that it engraved into me that I wanted to leave that sort of impact on students myself. This safe, comfortable environment was shown in many different ways. In my Kindergarten class, my teacher had comfy sections of the room and a variety of seating types for us to use. In third grade, the impact came from my teacher showing us that she is a real person, not just a teacher. She told us about her life and when she decided to move to a new career, she gave us goodies from her classroom that she didn’t need anymore. Lately in fourth grade, my teacher made sure to let us know that we were smart and capable of not only academics, but life in general. These few elementary school teachers are what brought me to realize that the way you are treated at that age is crucial to your life perspective of school, the world, and even yourself. Because I’ve heard a lot of tragic stories about cruel teachers and kids with unideal home lives, who need school as a place to breathe and learn during the day, I want to create a place that my students feel safe, comfortable, and seen. I have always loved kids, and I have always loved to see them get excited about learning something new. In high school I joined a club called FCCLA. Through this club I have gotten the opportunity to interact and teach children many times, and I love it. Over the summers we were able to spend our days watching the children of teachers at our school while they had workdays. In this I was able to gain experience interacting and learning the behavior of children ages 4-9. Through the school year, I had the opportunity to travel to elementary schools to teach kids about family consumer sciences, paper making, and FCCLA. I did the same for Junior High Schools as well. These experiences only strengthened my desire to become a teacher. Though it was difficult to handle certain kids, I always went home feeling accomplished, joyful, and hopeful for my future, and the future of the children. Becoming an elementary school teacher will be a dream come true.

All throughout my childhood, up until about my freshman year of high school, I never looked forward to going to college. Not because it wasn't appealing, but because I had told myself it wouldn't be an option for me. My mother is a housekeeper and my father tints car windows. My father makes a decent amount of money, but for the vast majority of my life, I hardly saw him. My parents divorced when I was little, and he moved in and out of the state throughout the course of my life. When he lived nearby, I saw him on weekends. All of the times he moved away, however, only got to see him on holidays. This made finances extremely difficult on my mother. Three kids, and one woman trying to feed and care for them on a self-run house cleaning business. We had barely enough money to pay for rent and food. At the age of fifteen, I paused and took a step back. I realized that I needed to reevaluate my opinions and values as an individual, rather than become a label or puppet. I always knew that my family’s viewpoints differed from my friends’ viewpoints, but I never saw it as an issue. If anything, I thought it was a blessing; that it would simply expose me to several different perspectives. Until one day, I realized the imprint that this naivete was leaving on me. My own values and “beliefs” were not my own. In fact, my beliefs were hardly there at all. When I was with my family, I would agree with the things they would say, and I would truly believe I meant it; except I did the same thing with my friends. These completely fluid opinions were contradicting each other on a daily basis. It made me feel like less of a person. It made me doubt my ability to form my own viewpoints. I hated this feeling, so instead of allowing myself to sit in confusion and self-doubt, I made the decision to pull myself away from the pressure of everyone else's opinions in order to discover how I really feel about the world and the way it works. In doing this, I learned amazing things about myself and became exceedingly more confident. As I got older, I began to not be able to ignore my big dreams for my future. I realized that I had to break the chain of financial struggle or else no one would. Through that, I thought back to what I had dreamed I’d do if I could go to college. I wanted to be a teacher. However, money doesn't just appear, and I couldn’t work enough to pay tuition in full if I tried. So, I decided to put faith in the options of scholarships and financial aid. I'm a good student and a great learner. I want to do incredible things for my life and my future students’ lives, and with the right help I will.

All throughout my childhood, up until about my freshman year of high school, I never looked forward to going to college. Not because it wasn't appealing, but because I had told myself it wouldn't be an option for me. My mother is a housekeeper and my father tints car windows. My father makes a decent amount of money, but for the vast majority of my life, I hardly saw him. My parents divorced when I was little and he moved in and out of the state throughout the course of my life. When he lived nearby I saw him on weekends. All of the times he moved away, however, only got to see him on holidays. This made finances extremely difficult on my mother. Three kids, and one woman trying to feed and care for them on a self-run house cleaning business. We had barely enough money to pay for rent and food. As I got older, I began to not be able to ignore my big dreams for my future. I realized that I had to break the chain of financial struggle or else no one would. Through that, I thought back to what I had dreamed I’d do if I could go to college. I wanted to be a teacher. All my life I had dreamed of being a teacher. I vividly remember the teachers I had growing up that truly made an impact on my experience in school. They were always so kind and knew how to make a group of students feel comfortable, even on the first day of school. It was in these moments that it engraved into me that I wanted to leave that sort of impact on students myself. This safe, comfortable environment was shown in many different ways. In my Kindergarten class, my teacher had comfy sections of the room and a variety of seating types for us to use. In third grade, the impact came from my teacher showing us that she is a real person, not just a teacher. She told us about her life and when she decided to move to a new career, she gave us goodies from her classroom that she didn’t need anymore. Lately in fourth grade, my teacher made sure to let us know that we were smart and capable of not only academics, but life in general. I have always loved kids, and I have always loved to see them get excited about learning something new. In high school I joined a club called FCCLA. Through this club I have gotten the opportunity to interact and teach children many times, and I love it. Over the summers we were able to spend our days watching the children of teachers at our school while they had workdays. In this I was able to gain experience interacting and learning the behavior of children ages 4-9. Through the school year, I had the opportunity to travel to elementary schools to teach kids about family consumer sciences, paper making, and FCCLA. I did the same for Junior High Schools as well. These experiences only strengthened my desire to become a teacher. Though it was difficult to handle certain kids, I always went home feeling accomplished, joyful, and hopeful for my future, and the future of the children. Becoming an elementary school teacher will be a dream come true.

All my life I dreamed of being a teacher. Throughout my childhood, up until about my freshman year of high school, I never looked forward to going to college. Not because it wasn't appealing, but because I had told myself it wouldn't be an option for me. My mother is a housekeeper and my father tints car windows. My father makes a decent amount of money, but for the vast majority of my life, I hardly saw him. My parents divorced when I was little, and he moved in and out of the state throughout the course of my life. When he lived nearby, I saw him on weekends. All of the times he moved away, however, only got to see him on holidays. This made finances extremely difficult on my mother. Three kids, and one woman trying to feed and care for them on a self-run house cleaning business. We had barely enough money to pay for rent and food. I vividly remember the teachers I had growing up that truly made an impact on my experience in school. They were always so kind and knew how to make a group of students feel comfortable, even on the first day of school. It was in these moments that it engraved into me that I wished to leave that sort of impact on students myself. I realized that I had to break the chain of financial struggle in my family or else no one would. The safe, comfortable environment from my teachers was shown in many different ways. In my Kindergarten class, my teacher had comfy sections of the room and a variety of seating types for us to use. In third grade, the impact came from my teacher showing us that she is a real person, not just a teacher. She told us about her life and when she decided to move to a new career, she gave us goodies from her classroom that she didn’t need anymore. Lately in fourth grade, my teacher made sure to let us know that we were smart and capable of not only academics, but life in general. These few elementary school teachers are what brought me to realize that the way you are treated at that age is crucial to your life perspective of school, the world, and even yourself. Because I’ve heard a lot of tragic stories about cruel teachers and kids with unideal home lives, who need school as a place to breathe and learn during the day, I want to create a place that my students feel safe, comfortable, and seen. I have always loved kids, and I have always loved to see them get excited about learning something new. In high school I joined a club called FCCLA. Through this club I have gotten the opportunity to interact and teach children many times, and I love it. Over the summers we were able to spend our days watching the children of teachers at our school while they had workdays. In this I was able to gain experience interacting and learning the behavior of children ages 4-9. Through the school year, I had the opportunity to travel to elementary schools to teach kids about family consumer sciences, paper making, and FCCLA. I did the same for Junior High Schools as well. These experiences only strengthened my desire to become a teacher. Though it was difficult to handle certain kids, I always went home feeling accomplished, joyful, and hopeful for my future, and the future of the children. Becoming an elementary school teacher will be a dream come true.

All throughout my childhood, up until about my freshman year of high school, I never looked forward to going to college. Not because it wasn't appealing, but because I had told myself it wouldn't be an option for me. My mother is a housekeeper and my father tints car windows. My father makes a decent amount of money, but for the vast majority of my life, I hardly saw him. My parents divorced when I was little, and he moved in and out of the state throughout the course of my life. When he lived nearby, I saw him on weekends. All of the times he moved away, however, only got to see him on holidays. This made finances extremely difficult on my mother. Three kids, and one woman trying to feed and care for them on a self-run house cleaning business. We had barely enough money to pay for rent and food. As I got older, I began to not be able to ignore my big dreams for my future. I realized that I had to break the chain of financial struggle or else no one would. Through that, I thought back to what I had dreamed I’d do if I could go to college. I wanted to be a teacher. I’ve heard a lot of tragic stories about cruel teachers and kids with unideal home lives, who need school as a place to breathe and learn during the day, I want to create a place that my students feel safe, comfortable, and seen. I have always loved kids, and I have always loved to see them get excited about learning something new. In high school I joined a club called FCCLA. Through this club I have gotten the opportunity to interact and teach children many times, and I love it. Over the summers we were able to spend our days watching the children of teachers at our school while they had workdays. In this I was able to gain experience interacting and learning the behavior of children ages 4-9. Through the school year, I had the opportunity to travel to elementary schools to teach kids about family consumer sciences, paper making, and FCCLA. I did the same for Junior High Schools as well. These experiences only strengthened my desire to become a teacher. Though it was difficult to handle certain kids, I always went home feeling accomplished, joyful, and hopeful for my future, and the future of the children. Becoming an elementary school teacher will be a dream come true. However, money doesn't just appear, and I couldn’t work enough to pay tuition in full if I tried. So, I decided to put faith in the options of scholarships and financial aid. I'm a good student and a great learner. I want to do incredible things for my life and my future students’ lives. With the right help, I know I can.

At the age of fifteen, I paused and took a step back. I realized that I needed to reevaluate my opinions and values as an individual, rather than become a label or puppet. I always knew that my family’s viewpoints differed from my friends’ viewpoints, but I never saw it as an issue. If anything, I thought it was a blessing; that it would simply expose me to several different perspectives. Until one day, I realized the imprint that this naivete was leaving on me. My own values and “beliefs” were not my own. In fact, my beliefs were hardly there at all. When I was with my family, I would agree with the things they would say and I would truly believe I meant it; except I did the same thing with my friends. These completely fluid opinions were contradicting each other on a daily basis. It made me feel like less of a person. It made me doubt my ability to form my own viewpoints. I hated this feeling, so instead of allowing myself to sit in confusion and self doubt, I made the decision to pull myself away from the pressure of everyone else's opinions in order to discover how I really feel about the world and the way it works. In doing this, I learned amazing things about myself and became exceedingly more confident. Through this journey I learned that I am a feminist, but I do not have to agree with all other feminists. I learned that I am a Christian and I can still be comfortable in my bisexuality. I learned that I can love myself and not be ashamed to show that I have the ability to self-love or pretend that I don't. I learned that I can take care of the planet without completely reinventing the way I live my everyday life. I learned that I love self expression of any kind, no matter who it is. I learned that I can see myself as a strong, independent woman, but still want someone around who can take over at times. Most importantly, I learned that people around me will always have strong, black and white opinions, but I never, ever have to agree with others for any reason. I was at such a young age when I began to be exposed to such polarizing opinions. I was seeing so much of the world and being tugged around mentally and emotionally at one of the most impressionable and naive ages. I was constantly filled with what everyone around me believed to be the truth with no way to tell if their opinions were actually based in truth. I won't lie, this took a toll on me. However, learning and growing through that pressure was the best thing I could have ever done for myself because I came out stronger than ever. While I still sometimes struggle to distinguish between my own opinions and others that surround me, I now know how to navigate outside influences and that is a skill I will take with me for the rest of my life.

All throughout my childhood, up until about my freshman year of high school, I never looked forward to going to college. Not because it wasn't appealing, but because I had told myself it wouldn't be an option for me. My mother is a housekeeper and my father tints car windows. My father makes a decent amount of money, but for the vast majority of my life, I hardly saw him. My parents divorced when I was little, and he moved in and out of the state throughout the course of my life. When he lived nearby, I saw him on weekends. All of the times he moved away, however, only got to see him on holidays. This made finances extremely difficult on my mother. Three kids, and one woman trying to feed and care for them on a self-run house cleaning business. We had barely enough money to pay for rent and food. As I got older, I began to not be able to ignore my big dreams for my future. I realized that I had to break the chain of financial struggle or else no one would. Through that, I thought back to what I had dreamed I’d do if I could go to college. I wanted to be a teacher. I’ve heard a lot of tragic stories about cruel teachers and kids with unideal home lives, who need school as a place to breathe and learn during the day, I want to create a place that my students feel safe, comfortable, and seen. I have always loved kids, and I have always loved to see them get excited about learning something new. In high school I joined a club called FCCLA. Through this club I have gotten the opportunity to interact and teach children many times, and I love it. Over the summers we were able to spend our days watching the children of teachers at our school while they had workdays. In this I was able to gain experience interacting and learning the behavior of children ages 4-9. Through the school year, I had the opportunity to travel to elementary schools to teach kids about family consumer sciences, paper making, and FCCLA. I did the same for Junior High Schools as well. However, money doesn't just appear, and I couldn’t work enough to pay tuition in full if I tried. So, I decided to put faith in the options of scholarships and financial aid. I'm a good student and a great learner. I want to do incredible things for my life and my future students’ lives. With the right help, I know I can.

All my life I dreamed of being a teacher. I vividly remember the teachers I had growing up that truly made an impact on my experience in school. They were always so kind and knew how to make a group of students feel comfortable, even on the first day of school. It was in these moments that it engraved into me that I wanted to leave that sort of impact on students myself. This safe, comfortable environment was shown in many different ways. In my Kindergarten class, my teacher had comfy sections of the room and a variety of seating types for us to use. In third grade, the impact came from my teacher showing us that she is a real person, not just a teacher. She told us about her life and when she decided to move to a new career, she gave us goodies from her classroom that she didn’t need anymore. Lately in fourth grade, my teacher made sure to let us know that we were smart and capable of not only academics, but life in general. These few elementary school teachers are what brought me to realize that the way you are treated at that age is crucial to your life perspective of school, the world, and even yourself. Because I’ve heard a lot of tragic stories about cruel teachers and kids with unideal home lives, who need school as a place to breathe and learn during the day, I want to create a place that my students feel safe, comfortable, and seen. I have always loved kids, and I have always loved to see them get excited about learning something new. In high school I joined a club called FCCLA. Through this club I have gotten the opportunity to interact and teach children many times, and I love it. Over the summers we were able to spend our days watching the children of teachers at our school while they had workdays. In this I was able to gain experience interacting and learning the behavior of children ages 4-9. Through the school year, I had the opportunity to travel to elementary schools to teach kids about family consumer sciences, paper making, and FCCLA. I did the same for Junior High Schools as well. These experiences only strengthened my desire to become a teacher. Though it was difficult to handle certain kids, I always went home feeling accomplished, joyful, and hopeful for my future, and the future of the children. Becoming an elementary school teacher will be a dream come true.

At the age of fifteen, I paused and took a step back. I realized that I needed to reevaluate my opinions and values as an individual, rather than become a label or puppet. I always knew that my family’s viewpoints differed from my friends’ viewpoints, but I never saw it as an issue. If anything, I thought it was a blessing; that it would simply expose me to several different perspectives. Until one day, I realized the imprint that this naivete was leaving on me. My own values and “beliefs” were not my own. In fact, my beliefs were hardly there at all. When I was with my family, I would agree with the things they would say and I would truly believe I meant it; except I did the same thing with my friends. These completely fluid opinions were contradicting each other on a daily basis. It made me feel like less of a person. It made me doubt my ability to form my own viewpoints. I hated this feeling, so instead of allowing myself to sit in confusion and self doubt, I made the decision to pull myself away from the pressure of everyone else's opinions in order to discover how I really feel about the world and the way it works. In doing this, I learned amazing things about myself and became exceedingly more confident. Through this journey I learned that I am a feminist, but I do not have to agree with all other feminists. I learned that I am a Christian and I can still be comfortable in my bisexuality. I learned that I can love myself and not be ashamed to show that I have the ability to self-love or pretend that I don't. I learned that I can take care of the planet without completely reinventing the way I live my everyday life. I learned that I love self expression of any kind, no matter who it is. I learned that I can see myself as a strong, independent woman, but still want someone around who can take over at times. Most importantly, I learned that people around me will always have strong, black and white opinions, but I never, ever have to agree with others for any reason. I was at such a young age when I began to be exposed to such polarizing opinions. I was seeing so much of the world and being tugged around mentally and emotionally at one of the most impressionable and naive ages. I was constantly filled with what everyone around me believed to be the truth with no way to tell if their opinions were actually based in truth. I won't lie, this took a toll on me. However, learning and growing through that pressure was the best thing I could have ever done for myself because I came out stronger than ever. While I still sometimes struggle to distinguish between my own opinions and others that surround me, I now know how to navigate outside influences and that is a skill I will take with me for the rest of my life.

All my life I dreamed of being a teacher. I vividly remember the teachers I had growing up that truly made an impact on my experience in school. They were always so kind and knew how to make a group of students feel comfortable, even on the first day of school. It was in these moments that it engraved into me that I wanted to leave that sort of impact on students myself. This safe, comfortable environment was shown in many different ways. In my Kindergarten class, my teacher had comfy sections of the room and a variety of seating types for us to use. In third grade, the impact came from my teacher showing us that she is a real person, not just a teacher. She told us about her life and when she decided to move to a new career, she gave us goodies from her classroom that she didn’t need anymore. Lately in fourth grade, my teacher made sure to let us know that we were smart and capable of not only academics, but life in general. These few elementary school teachers are what brought me to realize that the way you are treated at that age is crucial to your life perspective of school, the world, and even yourself. Because I’ve heard a lot of tragic stories about cruel teachers and kids with unideal home lives, who need school as a place to breathe and learn during the day, I want to create a place that my students feel safe, comfortable, and seen. I have always loved kids, and I have always loved to see them get excited about learning something new. In high school I joined a club called FCCLA. Through this club I have gotten the opportunity to interact and teach children many times, and I love it. Over the summers we were able to spend our days watching the children of teachers at our school while they had workdays. In this I was able to gain experience interacting and learning the behavior of children ages 4-9. Through the school year, I had the opportunity to travel to elementary schools to teach kids about family consumer sciences, paper making, and FCCLA. I did the same for Junior High Schools as well. These experiences only strengthened my desire to become a teacher. Though it was difficult to handle certain kids, I always went home feeling accomplished, joyful, and hopeful for my future, and the future of the children. Becoming an elementary school teacher will be a dream come true.

All my life I dreamed of being a teacher. I vividly remember the teachers I had growing up that truly made an impact on my experience in school. They were always so kind and knew how to make a group of students feel comfortable, even on the first day of school. It was in these moments that it engraved into me that I wanted to leave that sort of impact on students myself. This safe, comfortable environment was shown in many different ways. In my Kindergarten class, my teacher had comfy sections of the room and a variety of seating types for us to use. In third grade, the impact came from my teacher showing us that she is a real person, not just a teacher. She told us about her life and when she decided to move to a new career, she gave us goodies from her classroom that she didn’t need anymore. Lately in fourth grade, my teacher made sure to let us know that we were smart and capable of not only academics, but life in general. These few elementary school teachers are what brought me to realize that the way you are treated at that age is crucial to your life perspective of school, the world, and even yourself. Because I’ve heard a lot of tragic stories about cruel teachers and kids with unideal home lives, who need school as a place to breathe and learn during the day, I want to create a place that my students feel safe, comfortable, and seen. I have always loved kids, and I have always loved to see them get excited about learning something new. In high school I joined a club called FCCLA. Through this club I have gotten the opportunity to interact and teach children many times, and I love it. Over the summers we were able to spend our days watching the children of teachers at our school while they had workdays. In this I was able to gain experience interacting and learning the behavior of children ages 4-9. Through the school year, I had the opportunity to travel to elementary schools to teach kids about family consumer sciences, paper making, and FCCLA. I did the same for Junior High Schools as well. These experiences only strengthened my desire to become a teacher. Though it was difficult to handle certain kids, I always went home feeling accomplished, joyful, and hopeful for my future, and the future of the children. Becoming an elementary school teacher will be a dream come true.

All my life I dreamed of being a teacher. I vividly remember the teachers I had growing up that truly made an impact on my experience in school. They were always so kind and knew how to make a group of students feel comfortable, even on the first day of school. It was in these moments that it engraved into me that I wanted to leave that sort of impact on students myself. This safe, comfortable environment was shown in many different ways. In my Kindergarten class, my teacher had comfy sections of the room and a variety of seating types for us to use. In third grade, the impact came from my teacher showing us that she is a real person, not just a teacher. She told us about her life and when she decided to move to a new career, she gave us goodies from her classroom that she didn’t need anymore. Lately in fourth grade, my teacher made sure to let us know that we were smart and capable of not only academics, but life in general. These few elementary school teachers are what brought me to realize that the way you are treated at that age is crucial to your life perspective of school, the world, and even yourself. Because I’ve heard a lot of tragic stories about cruel teachers and kids with unideal home lives, who need school as a place to breathe and learn during the day, I want to create a place that my students feel safe, comfortable, and seen. I have always loved kids, and I have always loved to see them get excited about learning something new. In high school I joined a club called FCCLA. Through this club I have gotten the opportunity to interact and teach children many times, and I love it. Over the summers we were able to spend our days watching the children of teachers at our school while they had work days. In this I was able to gain experience interacting and learning the behavior of children ages 4-9. Through the school year, I had the opportunity to travel to elementary schools to teach kids about family consumer sciences, paper making, and FCCLA. I did the same for Junior High Schools as well. These experiences only strengthened my desire to become a teacher. Though it was difficult to handle certain kids, I always went home feeling accomplished, joyful, and hopeful for my future, and the future of the children. Becoming an elementary school teacher will be a dream come true.

All my life I dreamed of being a teacher. I vividly remember the teachers I had growing up that truly made an impact on my experience in school. They were always so kind and knew how to make a group of students feel comfortable, even on the first day of school. It was in these moments that it engraved into me that I wanted to leave that sort of impact on students myself. This safe, comfortable environment was shown in many different ways. In my Kindergarten class, my teacher had comfy sections of the room and a variety of seating types for us to use. In third grade, the impact came from my teacher showing us that she is a real person, not just a teacher. She told us about her life and when she decided to move to a new career, she gave us goodies from her classroom that she didn’t need anymore. Lately in fourth grade, my teacher made sure to let us know that we were smart and capable of not only academics, but life in general. These few elementary school teachers are what brought me to realize that the way you are treated at that age is crucial to your life perspective of school, the world, and even yourself. Because I’ve heard a lot of tragic stories about cruel teachers and kids with unideal home lives, who need school as a place to breathe and learn during the day, I want to create a place that my students feel safe, comfortable, and seen. I have always loved kids, and I have always loved to see them get excited about learning something new. In high school I joined a club called FCCLA. Through this club I have gotten the opportunity to interact and teach children many times, and I love it. Over the summers we were able to spend our days watching the children of teachers at our school while they had work days. In this I was able to gain experience interacting and learning the behavior of children ages 4-9. Through the school year, I had the opportunity to travel to elementary schools to teach kids about family consumer sciences, paper making, and FCCLA. I did the same for Junior High Schools as well. These experiences only strengthened my desire to become a teacher. Though it was difficult to handle certain kids, I always went home feeling accomplished, joyful, and hopeful for my future, and the future of the children. Becoming an elementary school teacher will be a dream come true.

All my life I dreamed of being a teacher. I vividly remember the teachers I had growing up that truly made an impact on my experience in school. They were always so kind and knew how to make a group of students feel comfortable, even on the first day of school. It was in these moments that it engraved into me that I wanted to leave that sort of impact on students myself. This safe, comfortable environment was shown in many different ways. In my Kindergarten class, my teacher had comfy sections of the room and a variety of seating types for us to use. In third grade, the impact came from my teacher showing us that she is a real person, not just a teacher. She told us about her life and when she decided to move to a new career, she gave us goodies from her classroom that she didn’t need anymore. Lately in fourth grade, my teacher made sure to let us know that we were smart and capable of not only academics, but life in general. These few elementary school teachers are what brought me to realize that the way you are treated at that age is crucial to your life perspective of school, the world, and even yourself. Because I’ve heard a lot of tragic stories about cruel teachers and kids with unideal home lives, who need school as a place to breathe and learn during the day, I want to create a place that my students feel safe, comfortable, and seen. I have always loved kids, and I have always loved to see them get excited about learning something new. In high school I joined a club called FCCLA. Through this club I have gotten the opportunity to interact and teach children many times, and I love it. Over the summers we were able to spend our days watching the children of teachers at our school while they had workdays. In this I was able to gain experience interacting and learning the behavior of children ages 4-9. Through the school year, I had the opportunity to travel to elementary schools to teach kids about family consumer sciences, paper making, and FCCLA. I did the same for Junior High Schools as well. These experiences only strengthened my desire to become a teacher. Though it was difficult to handle certain kids, I always went home feeling accomplished, joyful, and hopeful for my future, and the future of the children. Becoming an elementary school teacher will be a dream come true.

All throughout my childhood, up until about my freshman year of high school, I never looked forward to going to college. Not because it wasn't appealing, but because I had told myself it wouldn't be an option for me. My mother is a housekeeper and my father tints car windows. My father makes a decent amount of money, but for the vast majority of my life, I hardly saw him. My parents divorced when I was little, and he moved in and out of the state throughout the course of my life. When he lived nearby, I saw him on weekends. All of the times he moved away, however, only got to see him on holidays. This made finances extremely difficult on my mother. Three kids, and one woman trying to feed and care for them on a self-run house cleaning business. We had barely enough money to pay for rent and food. As I got older, I began to not be able to ignore my big dreams for my future. I realized that I had to break the chain of financial struggle or else no one would. Through that, I thought back to what I had dreamed I’d do if I could go to college. I wanted to be a teacher. However, money doesn't just appear, and I couldn’t work enough to pay tuition in full if I tried. So, I decided to put faith in the options of scholarships and financial aid. I'm a good student and a great learner. I want to do incredible things for my life and my future students’ lives. With the right help, I know I can.