Alienation is the loneliest feeling the human consciousness can create. As a neurodivergent student with a difficult family background, I often found myself feeling this way throughout my education journey. It’s extremely jarring to sit in class and see all the other students understand concepts at way faster speeds than you can. My brain would quickly spiral into negative self-deprecating thoughts. When in that situation, it’s easy to feel like a failure. I would never want my students to feel the way I did. Children should feel comfortable and confident in their education. That’s the environment I want to create with my students. I have spent my life being very observant. I have noticed teachers blatantly ignore discrimination and bullying towards neurodivergent students. My career’s goal is to never be that teacher. I want to let other teachers know that it is okay to address this behavior in a way that is effective and cordial. It is possible to challenge others beliefs. As I entered middle school, I found a best friend in a girl named Arden. I noticed she was a little shy so I pushed into the friendship by welcoming her into group projects and such. When we got to high school we were very close. In freshman year she was diagnosed with high functioning autism. Since then, I have noticed how much it has impacted her education journey. The Covid outbreak brought us all into isolation in 8th grade, but she was unable to leave like most were. I was too. I stayed online for an extra year and it was the loneliest experience I’ve ever had. Day in and day out we were in the house. By tenth grade I had decided to return to in-person school. Arden had developed severe social anxiety in this time and is still in online school. She has expressed to me that she knows the online program isn’t teaching her enough. It isn’t the right place for her to learn. It has drained her motivation to learn. Arden is a special needs student whose needs aren’t being met. There are many children like Arden in our country today. These children shouldn’t be shunned by society because they are too scared to learn in a class of 20+ children. I would adore to be a private teacher for one of these students. Bringing education into a home opens so much opportunity for a kid. They get a role model, a friend, and a teacher in one. These students should know that the pace they learn at is theirs alone, no one else can cast judgement on their character and abilities because of it. Whatever pace they’re learning at, they’re still learning. Patience is the key to upholding a special needs child’s motivation to learn. All children have that motivation inside them, let’s inspire it instead of isolating them.

When a child lacks a role model at home, they look for it elsewhere. I lost my father and grandfather to incarceration when I was two years old. It’s astounding how much something you can’t even remember can impact everything in your life. There were times I felt that I was doomed to be a criminal as well. There were times I thought my family’s mistakes would define me forever. School is my escape from this fate. At school, I have law-abiding teachers to view as role models. My teachers are involved in their community and care about their students. My Spanish teacher was especially helpful in my journey. We call her SeñO— a mix of her last name and the spanish word “señora.” Seño is involved in the Global Leadership Program at my school and partakes in a traveling class at least once a year. With her, I was finally able to learn the language my older family members spoke at home, and I did it at an impressive rate. After only 2 years of Spanish class I was extremely close to the mark of receiving the Seal of Biliteracy. Seño was so encouraging through the testing process, and she worked with me through the illness I caught halfway through. I had never had a teacher guide me as much as she did. I realized how academic achievements make me feel better about myself and my future. I finally found a way to reverse the fate that my family had long been tethered to. However, it’s definitely not as easy as it sounds. No one in my family has went to college. The process is entirely new to us—and equally intimidating. When met with this intimidation, most of my family members have succumbed to the “easier” ways of making money. For me, the availability of money doesn’t control my life decisions. I have so many stories to tell, so many lessons to teach, and so much love to give to aspiring students like myself. I want to be the Seño for another child. I felt alienated my entire life because of how different my family was, how different I was. I learned to embrace that difference, it’s beautiful. I want to teach my students to feel confident in embracing that difference as boldly as possible. Currently, I am working with my school’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging officer as the student leader of a group called the CARE Team. The CARE Team stands to address issues with bullying, discrimination, accommodations, and the DEIB program. When I heard the CARE Team was created for teachers, I immediately questioned why it wasn’t open for students as well. Soon after that conversation applications were sent out to students. Our first meeting is tomorrow. Firstly, I plan to focus on accommodations to neurodivergent students. I am neurodivergent and friends with many neurodivergent students, and we all agree the process for accommodations is unnecessarily lengthy. Success should be equally accessible for everyone. It’s harder to achieve this success when you’re met with a months long process with much pestering from the administration. These students should not be ignored. If possible, I’d like to personally attend meetings with students seeking accommodations. Having a student voice creates a less intimidating environment. The children of our generation deserve that safety everywhere.