Education is impactful in all aspects of one's life. Throughout my experiences volunteering in educational environments, I have realized my desire to pursue a professional career in education. When I was in middle school, I started volunteering at a summer program called "Vacation Bible School". I would always help the children in the preschool to kindergarten age groups. After volunteering there over the years, I realized how much I enjoyed not only working with children, but helping them learn. Additionally, throughout middle school and high school, I would find myself helping others with class material. At one point, I was a part of an early morning tutoring program for my math class. I found fulfillment when I was able to help someone understand the concepts and see them apply able to apply it. I realized that not only is it enjoyable for me to work with children, I also gain satisfaction from seeing those around me succeed. Being a teacher allows me to help others grow and thrive in their lives. Education is such an important part of everyone's life. Teachers can be especially impactful. When I was in elementary school I had a teacher who really impacted my life trajectory. He pushed me to believe in myself and to put more effort into academics. Up until that point in school, I had never received a 4.0 GPA. It had been my goal throughout school to receive all A's. With this teacher's support, I was able to apply myself, and for my last semester in elementary school, I earned a 4.0 GPA. He inspired me to pursue education, because through this experience, I was able to realize my potential. After sixth grade, I did better in school and I was even able to help others, highlighting how much I enjoyed helping others succeed. While grades and academic achievement are important, I also want to help students feel comfortable and safe. Not only does that play into a positive learning environment, it also helps students truly express themselves. School not only helps individuals succeed academically, it can also teach people a lot about themselves. Everyone grows up going to school, and the right environment can help shape individuals into caring, intelligent, and, most importantly, confident people. There are so many opportunities to teach children about the importance of respect, kindness, and how to appreciate themselves. Math, science, history, and English are not the only subjects taught in schools. Schools help individuals grow cognitively and emotionally.

Recently, one of my close family members ended up in the hospital due to self-harm. As someone who has suffered from similar situations in the past, I never realized just how serious it was, until someone close to me did it to themselves. This experience has pushed me to try harder so I can succeed in life allowing me to be in a position to help others. As someone who is still in college, I don't have all the resources that a person with a degree and professional job has. Which is why this experience showed me that I need to work harder to complete my goals and achieve my education so I have the capabilities to help others. I've always felt the strong urge to help others, finding myself the person in the friend group that everyone comes to when they have problems. I knew that I needed to do something in life that made an impact, which is why I'm pursuing an education to lead to elementary education. My goal is to become a teacher and offer a supportive learning environment in which students are lifted up. Considering this is such an early stage of life, external influences play a large role in the shaping of one's life. I hope to teach students that they are important, cared for, and have the capabilities to do what they want, no matter how hard. I didn't have those experiences with teachers as a child, and I have grown up feeling the impact of it. During my journey through therapy, my relationships around me changed drastically. I started to value those who treated me with kindness, and who were there for me just like I was there for them. This caused me to cut off some people who did not necessarily care about how I felt or how their words impacted me. It was hard losing friendships. It was even harder learning how to value myself in a way that allowed me to take those first steps. Since fourth grade I have experienced issues with my mental health, with it getting worse over the years. Being in a space where mental health had been the center of my life for so long, my outlook on the world is shaped by it. I've learned to be more empathetic and understanding of people's situations. My goals are based off of how I want to help others not go through the same experiences I went through. The people who are close to me are only the people that I feel safe and comfortable with. Now, I've learned that prioritizing my mental health has lead me to be the happiest I am and I hope that I can teach others how to value themselves too.