Three thousand is the number of students whom just one teacher will impact throughout their careers. Elementary education is my career of choice. It is a rewarding career in many ways, teachers are a vital part of children's life as they will help prepare and teach the basics of reading, writing, and mathematics that they will use for the rest of their lives. However a teacher's job is never done, not only do they help academically, but teachers will teach students to socialize properly and develop respect for one another. In the elementary years, the academics they learn will be foundational to their success later in their school, college, and life. Not only do the students learn from you, but there are many learning opportunities the student presents to the teacher as well. Young children often have different, positive outlooks on the world around them that adults don't have. I for one can't wait to get influenced by them and hope I am a great influence to them as well. Furthermore, I am extremely passionate about teaching. From a very young age, I have had a heart for children. I intend to make my classroom a welcoming and safe place for my students. I want to help my students get through difficult times and encourage them, to boost their confidence and self-esteem. Many teachers are role models for their students giving them advice and inspiration for life. An experienced teacher can also tell when their students are struggling and help them through what they are dealing with and offer support that they may need. I hope to become a teacher not only to teach students the necessary skills but to also build personal relationships with every student. Overall throughout the process of working to become a teacher, I have had to sacrifice more time and effort than most in order to accomplish my personal and educational goals. Being diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of six has made me less focused, and more fatigued, caused memory problems, and more challenges. These things have greatly affected my goals and made learning challenging in school and further education. However, despite all these challenges I have maintained a 4.0 while taking on honors and AP classes. Many aspects of having epilepsy can affect my day-to-day life including things like work, school, and even driving. In spite of these challenges, I want to continue pursuing my career goal of becoming an elementary education teacher to impact the lives of countless children.

In today’s world, the identities of high school students with disabilities are often greatly looked down upon by those around them. Fellow students, teachers, and even administration are quick to judge what a child with disabilities can do labeling them as unintelligent. When this is just simply not the case, a disability may hinder your education and make it harder but you are no different from any other person without a disability. Furthermore, I don’t plan to let my disability define me. I want to go to college at Mississippi College, to hopefully get a degree in elementary education. I have a passion for kids and want to make a difference in the next generation. I want to be a role model for the next generation and positively influence young minds. With proper education attending either Mississippi College or Pearl River Community College followed by the University of Southern Mississippi, I plan to get a bachelor's degree in education. I hope to accomplish and understand more about getting a degree in elementary education. Becoming an elementary teacher in an underprivileged school district and teaching kids basic skills. This gives me countless opportunities to impact young lives in and outside the classroom. The teacher is one of the students' biggest influences, many times spending more time with them than their parents. I hope I accomplish making my students feel welcome in their class and want to come to school each day excited to learn. I hope I can build meaningful relationships with each student, make connections with them, and figure out what way they learn best. Elementary teachers are a vital part of a child’s life, as they will help prepare and teach the basics of reading, writing, and mathematics that they will use for the rest of their lives. This job might not seem ideal to most but I see it as a reward. It is a privilege to pass knowledge to future generations and shape the future one child at a time. That can not be measured in monetary or worldly terms. According to the University of Bridgeport News, “ The average teacher touches the lives of over 3,000 students throughout their career. Also, a 2015 study found that teacher can make a difference in the development of their student’s social and emotional intelligence.” This just shows while teaching the educational principles, teachers also build emotional and spiritual foundations such as morals and values that will also become a vital part of their student’s development. I hope to accomplish this as well and there is no other field of study that continually impacts future generations more than an educator!

Mental health involves emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how people feel, think, and act. It determines how you handle emotions and make choices in situations. Twenty-eight point eight million Americans, that is the number of Americans in the United States who have had an eating disorder in their lifetime. An eating disorder is a mental health disorder that affects a person's eating behaviors along with their attitudes and feelings about food. However, an eating disorder doesn’t just affect your relationship with food. It causes strained or even broken relationships with friends, parents, and siblings. When you have an eating disorder, your relationships are greatly impacted. You tend to become more secretive and isolated and don’t want to go out and do anything with friends. It feels like in the blink of an eye the eating disorder has taken control of your life. These behaviors can seriously affect your body in so many ways. To name a few an eating disorders can cause issues with the heart, digestive system, bones, and teeth and involved many other mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Having an eating disorder can distract you from relationships, school and your goals in life. It can be exhausting going to doctor appointments constantly, hospital stays, and just making sure you are eating enough for your body to function regularly. Overall my experience with mental health has shaped my goals in a positive view. Now being recovered from an eating disorder for around 2 years I see that my body is a temple. My body does so much and it needs food in order to function properly. Through counseling, self-help book,and podcast I have recovered from my eating disorder and it is my goal to keep healthy enough to further my education and obtain an elementary education degree in order to teach and influence young minds. Through my experiences, I can be on the lookout for issues as they arise. I learned that I am far more than my appearance, or size I am worth more than what others think of me and how they view me. I understand that my body is just the way God intends it to look like. I understand that comparison is the thief of joy and social media glamorizes being thin. Often people turn to social media for meal inspiration, videos such as “ what I eat in a day’ swarm the internet and many are influenced by thinking if they follow an influencer's diet then they will look exactly how they look which simply isn’t true. While recovering from an eating disordering was one of the most physical, emotional, and mentally challenging things I’ve ever done it has changed my understanding of the world.