Moral fiber is a concept that continuously comes to my mind when I think about why I am studying to become an elementary teacher. Day after day, I hear “Wow, you are brave for becoming a teacher. I would never be able to spend all day working with children.” No matter how many times I hear a version of this statement, I always find myself taken aback and wondering why people believe working with children is such an unpleasant task. The children of today and tomorrow are our future generations of courageous and amazing leaders, which is something that should be cherished. Education is meaningful to me because I know how teachers and their commitment has an effect on the futures of their students. Unfortunately, I had to go through a dreadful few years of elementary school, which included a relentless amount of emotional and on the verge of physical bullying. I was nothing but a scared little girl who wanted to learn but was terrified to even show up at school some days. My appearance and skin color were the targeted attacks of these bullies. I begged the teachers and faculty for help, yet it seemed like I was always fed the same answer, repeatedly: “It’s just kids being kids and it will all blow over in time.” Although it did dissipate through the years, to this day, I still have the emotional scars engraved into who I am. Now, I am not saying that no faculty neglected to help to some extent. In fact, I am extremely thankful for a handful of teachers that made a strong impact on my life. For example, my high school math teacher will always be someone that I thank for inspiring me to be where I am today in my educational experience; He is the teacher who made me believe that teachers can have a positive influence in a student’s life. No matter what I was going through or what subject I needed help in, I was always able to rush to his classroom and receive the help that I needed. Although it was years after elementary school, this is the role model that I was looking for. As I found myself pondering what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I kept coming back to my experiences from elementary school. One question haunted me for days: Would things have been different if I had a safe space at the school? This is when it hit me. I want to be that safe space for children to be able to trust that they are being looked out for. I have a strong belief that children should be part of an education curriculum that helps them both, engage in free play to help them find their own identities, and gives them the strongest foot forward towards creating their dream futures. I hope to one day, be that factor that inspires and makes a difference on at least one child’s future.