“Would you like to be my special helper today?” I looked up through my water-filled eyes to see that my new teacher had just asked me that question. It was my first day of kindergarten, and all I remember from the start of that day, are my endless tears of not wanting to leave my mom’s side: then I heard Mrs. Craft ask me that question. The moment I heard it, everything felt better. Sniffling towards the classroom, I walked inside, not knowing that that moment had created my entire future. Making a change for the better has always been a big part of who I am. My dream has always been to become a teacher. It allows for my morals and values to align: helping others, being kind, and doing something I love. Over my many years of being at school, I can name all the teachers I’ve loved, and all the ones that I wish I had never had. Yet there’s something each teacher has in common; they’ve all helped shape me into who I am today. I believe that teachers help shape their students into the kind of person they become, and my goal is to shape those kids into the best people they could possibly be. As a future elementary school teacher, I wish to greet my kids with warm smiles and create an environment where they feel safe to be who they are and learn who and what they want to be. It takes a special person to become a teacher; someone who has patience and is filled with compassion; who wants to see their kids grow and treat them with fairness and honesty. Going back to my elementary school days, I can say that most of my teachers treated me with these exact traits, and this created an environment where I felt comfortable and safe. Elementary teachers set a tone for what the rest of a kid's school years are going to look like. They allow their kids to develop a love for learning. I want to make my learning fun and enjoyable so that my students want to come to school every day. I want to teach them how to count and do math by giving them 10 skittles on a random Tuesday afternoon, and then telling them to eat some and then to count them again. I want to read them stories about how a mouse may want a cookie or a glass of milk or how hungry the caterpillar was. I want them to learn word by word, sounding out their letters and words as they read their first book on their own. But most importantly, I want them to feel loved and know that it’s okay to ask for help. I yearn to teach them to be good people and to show the kindness and compassion to those around them and to themselves, as Mrs. Craft showed me.