My two kids are everything to me. I push through the struggles of being a single mom and getting my school work done every day. I was 21 when I got pregnant with my first child she was the reason I decided to go back to school. I wanted to give her a good life and know she could achieve anything if her mom could. When I got pregnant with my son I had many medical problems, she has seen me struggle but she has also watched me grow and accomplish so much. Going to school and learning about early childhood education has opened my eyes to how my kids learn and how I can help them learn has been so rewarding. By furthering my education I can and will be able to supply my children with a promising future and send them to college one day. I can make a difference in other children's life’s when teaching them. I will be the first person in my family to graduate from college so having my parents and my children be there to support me in my learning has been amazing.

I have had dogs my entire life. Growing up I had many types of dogs but my favorite was a black lab named blacky she was an amazing dog.She would alway me to dress her up and put hats and glasses on her I would curl up and fall asleep with her when I got scared. When I turned 18 and moved out onto my own I had a strange guy standing on my porch when I got out of the shower. I went the next day and got two husky’s they were the sweetest, bundle of fur so full of energy and at night I would let them out until my boyfriend got home and they scared off the man when he came back around. I was 25 when they passed away I was so disappointed I knew when I got them they were not puppies. After the huskies passed I went a few years without a dog fast forward to 33 years old and owning my own home and having two kids I decided it was time for another dog so I messaged a friend and asked him if he had puppies coming soon and he sure did he just had a batch of pomskies, a Pomeranian Husky mix. We picked him up a few moths later and named him Rocky like the pup from paw patrol. A month after getting him we took in a black lab rescue she is reminded me of my black lab growing up so we adopted her. Watching my kids play with these dogs brings joy and laughter into my life. My kids chase the dogs in circles and play tug and my son is so small that the dogs drag him on the floor and what I love the most is they have that soft side to them but the very second they think someone is hurting the kids the come charging and growling. My black lab nipped me once because my son was laughing so hard it sounded like he was crying from me tickling him and she came over started barking and nipped my arm. I have found that I don’t have 2 kids I have 4. My 2 actual kids and my two furry babies. They each have there own personality just like my kids and I am always cleaning up after them as all 4 of them make big messes but it’s worth it to watch my little guy crawl up on Bella and watch her slowly move around the house so he don’t fall off makes me laugh she treats him like he is her baby. When they are done they lay on the floor curled up together. Rocky this winter pulling a sled around with lil man in it and the giggle and smiles these dogs bring to him. My daughter 11 years old try’s to walk them and they jump around her tangle her up and make her laugh. When these dogs are not playing with the kids they are playing together and making us laugh grabbing at each other’s tails jumping over each other and tugging each other’s tails. They bring so much love and laughter into our home that was missing before they joined our family. Rocky will be a year old in April and the only thing we know is she was 3 when we got her so she will be 4 on gotcha day and I’m happy all 4 kids get to grow together.

At a young age my parents divorced, I was left to help my dad raise my younger brother. I did the cooking and cleaning not really having time for friends or birthdays like most kids my age. Through this experience I learned to never give up on my dreams I became determined to have a better life for myself and my kids. I know am 33 years old with two young kids and am working towards my associates degree in Early Childhood Education. I started my degree in 2016 but due to health issues I had to drop my classes I was determined after being out of school for 2 years I was going to go back and get my degree. I started classes again in fall of 2020 and that winter got sick again and had to have yet another surgery but being determined I finished my fall classes and set my surgery up for right after my last homework was submitted.The hospital got me in for January 1 week before my next semester I had my surgery and slept on my couch for 2 months but in between sleeping to heal and taking my meds I would wake up long enough to get some homework done. Granted I could not move from the couch without the help of my better half but determination to provide a better life for my kids then I had has pushed me to get this far in my career and my classes. Having my determination has helped better my own life and is the greatest quality I could ever possess it has gotten me so far in my life and continues to give me a better life as I push forward to reach my goals through easy times or the most difficult times of my life.

Working with young students gives me hope. Helping them to strive in their learning, and seeing their faces when they finally understand something. I have worked in the school system for four years now and every day there is something new. At my school, we encompass kindness, kindness to ourselves and to others. This Summer our summer school students went out and collected rocks they painted these rocks and put kind words on them. They placed these rocks around our school so the first day back other students would see them. They also put some around the town such as the post office and the mini-mart to deliver kindness to the community. This brings me to hope that these kids can spread their kindness and change how people treat people. Working with these kids has given me all kinds of hope that our future is bright and that they can be a change. Watching kids on the playground having fun also gives me hope, that the world around them has allowed them to be kids and has not changed them into an adult too soon. Working at a school I see a lot have had a lot of heartbreak and understand not all kids have the same opportunities in life as others. My hope for these kids is they can go to school and spend a day with their friends and teachers who care about them get some food and be able to be a kid for the day. I think to work in a school you must have hope, you hope that you can impact the students in a positive way and they learn all they can while they are with you. You hope they take away the good and leave the bad behind at the door, so they can learn and make their future brighter. So my answer is definitely hope for our children because they are our future without them there would be no future.

I was in eighth grade when my English teacher recommended a book called She Said Yes, By Misty Bernall. At this age, I really grew to enjoy books based on true stories. This story really had an impact on my life and throughout my life, I have read this book multiple times to remind me that life is short and to always tell your loved ones you love them. She Said Yes is a memoir about Misty Bernalls daughter, Cassie who was killed during the Columbine Highschool on April 20th, 1999. Misty tells the story of that dreadful Tuesday and how the morning started and goes into detail about the fear of the parents that waited outside the school to find their children. Misty's eyes were glued to the news as her husband looked over the fence to see cops everywhere. This book really hit me as I was getting ready to graduate and head into high school myself most kids who read this book made them worried about the unknown of high school and gave some fear that this could happen in our school. What I learned from this book was to treat other kids the way I wanted to be treated, make sure to keep my eyes open, and make sure everyone felt like they had a friend. I remember this my full four years of high school, as I walked out of high school being friends with everyone. Though this book is tragic and makes everyone feel for those who lost their lives on April 20th, 1999 I feel like Cassie sent a message to the world the day she told her killer, yes and her mother told her beutiful story.