Helen, are you okay?" Ms. Brum said. "I know this is difficult, starting at a new school in the middle of middle school. Please come to me whenever you want, I'm always there." That's a rough paraphrase of what my 6th grade English teacher told me. I had moved to a new state, and felt so alone. Everyone there had been going to school with each other for years, and I stuck out like a sore thumb. I felt like I was never going to properly fit in, become part of the school community, even make friends. But just that little bit of acknowledgement gave me the courage to put myself out there. She was the first person who recognized me, and that made the complete difference for me. She helped me be comfortable in this brand new environment. I feel so lucky to have had fantastic teachers like Ms. Brum who looked out for me in school, and I want to pay it forward by helping future students. Last year, on my February break, I decided to bring my goal to fruition: to volunteer and teach an art class that was more specific and specialized than the regular huge classes in public school. I emailed the head of the public school after-school program, and told her my plan. I wanted to teach a small group of 10 or so elementary school students a quick lesson about different artists and their styles, and then create a craft for them to do. After much deliberation and background checks, I got it! I was going to teach the class after school to two local public schools, Whittier and Hawthorne. I created a lesson plan about cubism, highlighting different diverse artists, so kids could see themselves in the work. This was crucial to me because I wanted them to think that if they wanted to do something like this, they could. That they could do anything. I printed out templates for them and brought markers, crayons, and scissors for them to use. I showed them the slideshow I made and asked them lots of questions about what they thought about the style; what they thought it should be called; what they thought the shapes represented. They ended up making fantastic work, and even more important, having fun. This experience made me realize that I want to be a teacher. The glowing smiles on their faces when I came back on the second day with a new craft made all the effort and hours of work completely worth it. They've certainly made an impact on my heart, and I deeply hope I did to them. I want to major in elementary education and get a master's through the 4+1 program offered by schools like Rutgers.