Life is hard for everyone. I’ll use myself as a brief example. Before I was the age of 18 I had been molested, my father went prison for 18 months, we moved 7 times, my sister was raped also had a miscarriage, our utilities were constantly shut off, 6 of my fellow classmates committed suicide in high school, and the list I continues. I won’t try to cover up these events or brush them off, it is a lot for any adolescent to go through. I quickly found myself surrounded with friends who had similar struggles, which I’m grateful for because it was clear at a young age that I’m not the only one who experienced tough times. If you look at my past from all of these negatives, it seems dark and miserable. Despite those traumatic events, they don’t define myself or my childhood. My childhood was surrounded by love and laughter, with dreams and goals. Loving parents who sacrificed everything to give my family a better life, silly siblings who played endless amounts of pranks on each other, and adventurous friends who dared to tackle the world. I loved my past, and I remember it with fondness. There are haunting moments that I wish didn’t occur, some of them still replay regularly years later. One of which was the first time a classmate committed suicide. I clearly remember how my heart tore. I was 14 and I was completely in shock. My most pressing thought was “no, that can’t happen. Don’t they know there’s more to life than the now?”. After that suicide, I sorrowfully report that suicide became a pandemic at my school. There were 1-2 suicides every year from the 4 years I attended. It became a school tradition to dress up in our Sunday best the following day out of respect for the loss of the student. A tradition that I participated in but one I severely dreaded. The most upsetting part is, there were countless suicide attempts as well, sister being one of them. Thankfully, my sister survived and she is here to this day. She has devoted herself as a caregiver to the mentally handicapped. Because she lived, she has helped hundreds of individuals have a better life. Through those dark times at my high school, there was one teacher who stood out among the rest. His name was Mr. Schramm, an ASL teacher. I signed up for his class when I was a sophomore and I happened to be in the first class he ever taught. He was very goofy and a very passionate teacher. He would not move on to a different subject until everyone understood what he was teaching. His daily goal was to make sure each student smiled at least once in his classroom. The biggest failure my school faced was how they handled the suicides. No teacher talked about it, there was no assembly discussing prevention, or any recognition at all. Administrators decided if they didn’t talk about it, then it never happened. Every teacher followed this direction, except for Mr. Schramm. Mr. Schramm did more for the students than anyone else did. When there was another passing, without fail you would show up to his class and he would spend the entire class time talking to us about our emotional/mental health. He told us how hard life gets and how to handle stress. He gave us a space to feel like we mattered and someone noticed us. On top of that, whenever he didn’t have a class, he would wander the hallways talking to students to see if they were okay. He also created a club called “Hope”, where he led this club in spreading love, friendship, and kindness to every student. One day Hope Club came to school hours early to put an uplifting note in every locker. Which was a huge task because this was a 5A school. Mr. Schramm inspired me to be a teacher like he is. I want to spread a hopeful spirit and a peaceful place for students to be part of through their hard times. That is what I want to devote my life to, helping people (specifically adolescents) see the good side of life. To give them a clear understanding that they are important, that they are remarkable, and that whatever struggles they are going through will pass. That is why I’ve been devoting my time and money to becoming a secondary educator with a major in history and a minor in English. Teaching history would be a great way to show students that circumstances change and move on. Teaching English would help students imagine a better world and to envision themselves in their ideal life. In short, these young adults need more teachers to talk to them honestly about life struggles, life goals, and, if needed, how to get help. It’s my dream and passion to be that teacher.

Without a doubt, history is the most important subject to learn. When I was in 7th grade my entire life was changed by my history teacher. My eyes opened up to, not only the importance of an organization government, but of a United country. Before this class, I knew the basics about American history. But after this class is when I found my passion. I could not read enough biographies or watch enough documentaries. My love for learning, and my love for this nation, exploded. I seemed to carry it with me where ever I went. Then I moved on to 8th grade, let’s just say my history teacher was anything but excited about the subject. I remember listening to his monotone voice explain the Civil War and it caused my blood to boil. I wanted to jump on my desk and re-tell my classmates the actual story about how a nation that was at each others throats found a way to reunite. A message greatly needed then, and one certainly needed now. From there I knew my dream in life is to teach history, I needed to give it the proper enthusiasm it deserves. When I was 18 I moved from Utah to Missouri and I volunteered at a historical site located in Independence for a few months. I paid for my cost of living while I was there and I received no monetary gain from that experience. However, I gained something more valuable than money. I was able to greet visitors and walk them through a history tour about the frontier men who lived in that state, as well as the impact they had on the land. Sometimes I would get visitors who enjoyed the presentation and had a good experience, but other times I would have visitors who would get so invested during the tour they would stay for hours discussing various events. I lived those visitors. I loved those few months volunteering there. Within a few short weeks I was appointed lead historian to ensure all of the tours were following history accurately. Then, after my shifts, I would study for hours to keep my information fresh and uniformed. After that volunteer ship was over, I went back home to Utah to start funding my education. I’ve been in school since 2018 attending classes while juggling a full time work schedule. I’m finally at the part of my program where my classes strictly focus on my major, I love every single one of them. I’m expected to graduate with my teaching degree next year, and it is a literal dream come true. I would have gotten to my graduation date sooner, however my father has had a decline in his health. Because of his health, I’ve paced myself slower on obtaining my degree so I can assist him. Though it has been placed as a slower pace, I don’t regret my decision to help him. In my opinion, family is the most important thing in the world. It has pushed my graduation date back a few times but it has not hindered my history career. In fact, I believe it fueled it. It’s pushed me to write a biography about a historical figure, as well as create a podcast that explains random events that happened in history briefly. I cannot wait to live my dream of teaching history. My goal is to have students see the miracle of this nation and to grow a love for it. I know I will do it, Im almost there to that reality.

Life is hard for everyone. I’ll use myself as a brief example. Before I was the age of 18 I had been molested, my father went prison for 18 months, we moved 7 times, my sister was raped also had a miscarriage, our utilities were constantly shut off, 6 of my fellow classmates committed suicide in high school, and the list I continues. I won’t try to cover up these events or brush them off, it is a lot for any adolescent to go through. I quickly found myself surrounded with friends who had similar struggles, which I’m grateful for because it was clear at a young age that I’m not the only one who experienced tough times. If you look at my past from all of these negatives, it seems dark and miserable. Despite those traumatic events, they don’t define myself or my childhood. My childhood was surrounded by love and laughter, with dreams and goals. Loving parents who sacrificed everything to give my family a better life, silly siblings who played endless amounts of pranks on each other, and adventurous friends who dared to tackle the world. I loved my past, and I remember it with fondness. There are haunting moments that I wish didn’t occur, some of them still replay regularly years later. One of which was the first time a classmate committed suicide. I clearly remember how my heart tore. I was 14 and I was completely in shock. My most pressing thought was “no, that can’t happen. Don’t they know there’s more to life than the now?”. After that suicide, I sorrowfully report that suicide became a pandemic at my school. There were 1-2 suicides every year from the 4 years I attended. It became a school tradition to dress up in our Sunday best the following day out of respect for the loss of the student. A tradition that I participated in but one I severely dreaded. The most upsetting part is, there were countless suicide attempts as well, sister being one of them. Thankfully, my sister survived and she is here to this day. She has devoted herself as a caregiver to the mentally handicapped. Because she lived, she has helped hundreds of individuals have a better life. That is what I want to devote my life to, helping people (specifically adolescents) see the good side of life. To give them a clear understanding that they are important, that they are remarkable, and that whatever struggles they are going through will pass. That is why I’ve been devoting my time and money to becoming a secondary educator with a major in history and a minor in English. Teaching history would be a great way to show students that circumstances change and move on. Teaching English would help students imagine a better world and to envision themselves in their ideal life. In short, these young adults need more teachers to talk to them honestly about life struggles, life goals, and, if needed, how to get help. It’s my dream and passion to be that teacher.