The moment I knew I wanted to be a teacher was at the end of my eleventh-grade year of high school. I was writing a “Why do you want to be a teacher?” essay in my Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow class. When I first signed up for the class, my initial plan was to learn more about kids so I could be a Child Psychologist, but as time went on I started enjoying all the “tedious” aspects of teaching: such as lesson planning, making anchor charts, and creating worksheets. I finally started to be on “the other side of the desk” as Mrs. Free would say. Growing up I had a rough childhood, and my parents were in and out of jail. When I was born I got put straight into foster care, and then I was legally adopted by my aunt at two years old. I grew up in Newark, New Jersey where education opportunities and resources were scarce. I was a straight-A student and always on the principal’s list until one day my mom decided to move us to Summit, New Jersey. When we moved, only four people in the school looked like me. I was an outsider to them. I struggled to make friends, but I also struggled in school. My mom was notified that it might be in my best interest to repeat the second grade. I was on a low reading level, and a low math level, and I could barely write five sentences. Being the new girl and feeling “dumb” truly embarrassed me, and as a result, I began to act out and get into trouble. I struggled throughout elementary school with teachers who thought less of me and treated me differently because of the way I looked. I did not blame them. All the odds were against me, I was supposed to fail. When I started fifth grade my original teacher had to go on maternity leave so we had an interim teacher named Mrs. Zerella, whom I grew to become very fond of. Mrs. Zerella never treated me any differently. She offered to tutor me every day to ensure I passed my SOLs. She even took walks with me when I was having a bad day. She was the only teacher in my life at the time who believed in me and encouraged me. I looked at her as a role model. I trusted her, and I respected her as a teacher. When I finished elementary school she told me “I’m always rooting for you, I can't wait to see who you grow up to be,” and from that day forward I pushed myself to be the best, to be the smartest. My high school teacher, Ms. Free has a personality like no other, she pushed me to be the best teacher that I could be, by making me do internship blogs every week, teaching me how to lesson plan, and supporting me and my growth throughout the years. During my senior year, she helped change my mindset of how I saw teachers. The hard work they do goes unappreciated. As I started interning, I began to create bonds with my students, and they slowly made me realize there’s no better job in this world to help kids than to become a teacher. Now as my senior year comes to an end and I’m wrapping up my internship with my third graders, I understand why people become teachers. There’s no better reward in this world than to see a child learn and grow.

The moment I knew I wanted to be a teacher was at the end of my eleventh-grade year of high school. I was writing a “Why do you want to be a teacher?” essay in my Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow class. When I first signed up for the class, my initial plan was to learn more about kids so I could be a Child Psychologist, but as time went on I started enjoying all the “tedious” aspects of teaching: such as lesson planning, making anchor charts, and creating worksheets. I finally started to be on “the other side of the desk” as Mrs. Free would say. Growing up I had a rough childhood, and my parents were in and out of jail. When I was born I got put straight into foster care, and then I was legally adopted by my aunt at two years old. I grew up in Newark, New Jersey where education opportunities and resources were scarce. I was a straight-A student and always on the principal’s list until one day my mom decided to move us to Summit, New Jersey. When we moved, only four people in the school looked like me. I was an outsider to them. I struggled to make friends, but I also struggled in school. My mom was notified that it might be in my best interest to repeat the second grade. I was on a low reading level, and a low math level, and I could barely write five sentences. Being the new girl and feeling “dumb” truly embarrassed me, and as a result, I began to act out and get into trouble. I struggled throughout elementary school with teachers who thought less of me and treated me differently because of the way I looked. I did not blame them. All the odds were against me, I was supposed to fail. When I started fifth grade my original teacher had to go on maternity leave so we had an interim teacher named Mrs. Zerella, whom I grew to become very fond of. Mrs. Zerella never treated me any differently. She offered to tutor me every day to ensure I passed my SOLs. She even took walks with me when I was having a bad day. She was the only teacher in my life at the time who believed in me and encouraged me. I looked at her as a role model. I trusted her, and I respected her as a teacher. When I finished elementary school she told me “I’m always rooting for you, I can't wait to see who you grow up to be,” and from that day forward I pushed myself to be the best, to be the smartest. My high school teacher, Ms. Free has a personality like no other, she pushed me to be the best teacher that I could be, by making me do internship blogs every week, teaching me how to lesson plan, and supporting me and my growth throughout the years. During my senior year, she helped change my mindset of how I saw teachers. The hard work they do goes unappreciated. As I started interning, I began to create bonds with my students, and they slowly made me realize there’s no better job in this world to help kids than to become a teacher. Now as my senior year comes to an end and I’m wrapping up my internship with my third graders, I understand why people become teachers. There’s no better reward in this world than to see a child learn and grow.

The moment I knew I wanted to be a teacher was at the end of my eleventh-grade year of high school. I was writing a “Why do you want to be a teacher?” essay in my Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow class. When I first signed up for the class, my initial plan was to learn more about kids so I could be a Child Psychologist, but as time went on I started enjoying all the “tedious” aspects of teaching: such as lesson planning, making anchor charts, and creating worksheets. I finally started to be on “the other side of the desk” as Mrs. Free would say. Growing up I had a rough childhood, and my parents were in and out of jail. When I was born I got put straight into foster care, and then I was legally adopted by my aunt at two years old. I grew up in Newark, New Jersey where education opportunities and resources were scarce. I was a straight-A student and always on the principal’s list until one day my mom decided to move us to Summit, New Jersey. When we moved, only four people in the school looked like me. I was an outsider to them. I struggled to make friends, but I also struggled in school. My mom was notified that it might be in my best interest to repeat the second grade. I was on a low reading level, and a low math level, and I could barely write five sentences. Being the new girl and feeling “dumb” truly embarrassed me, and as a result, I began to act out and get into trouble. I struggled throughout elementary school with teachers who thought less of me and treated me differently because of the way I looked. I did not blame them. All the odds were against me, I was supposed to fail. When I started fifth grade my original teacher had to go on maternity leave so we had an interim teacher named Mrs. Zerella, whom I grew to become very fond of. Mrs. Zerella never treated me any differently. She offered to tutor me every day to ensure I passed my SOLs. She even took walks with me when I was having a bad day. She was the only teacher in my life at the time who believed in me and encouraged me. I looked at her as a role model. I trusted her, and I respected her as a teacher. When I finished elementary school she told me “I’m always rooting for you, I can't wait to see who you grow up to be,” and from that day forward I pushed myself to be the best, to be the smartest. My high school teacher, Ms. Free has a personality like no other, she pushed me to be the best teacher that I could be, by making me do internship blogs every week, teaching me how to lesson plan, and supporting me and my growth throughout the years. During my senior year, she helped change my mindset of how I saw teachers. The hard work they do goes unappreciated. As I started interning, I began to create bonds with my students, and they slowly made me realize there’s no better job in this world to help kids than to become a teacher. Now as my senior year comes to an end and I’m wrapping up my internship with my third graders, I understand why people become teachers. There’s no better reward in this world than to see a child learn and grow.

The moment I knew I wanted to be a teacher was at the end of my eleventh-grade year of high school. I was writing a “Why do you want to be a teacher?” essay in my Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow class. When I first signed up for the class, my initial plan was to learn more about kids so I could be a Child Psychologist, but as time went on I started enjoying all the “tedious” aspects of teaching: such as lesson planning, making anchor charts, and creating worksheets. I finally started to be on “the other side of the desk” as Mrs. Free would say. Growing up I had a rough childhood, and my parents were in and out of jail. When I was born I got put straight into foster care, and then I was legally adopted by my aunt at two years old. I grew up in Newark, New Jersey where education opportunities and resources were scarce. I was a straight-A student and always on the principal’s list until one day my mom decided to move us to Summit, New Jersey. When we moved, only four people in the school looked like me. I was an outsider to them. I struggled to make friends, but I also struggled in school. My mom was notified that it might be in my best interest to repeat the second grade. I was on a low reading level, and a low math level, and I could barely write five sentences. Being the new girl and feeling “dumb” truly embarrassed me, and as a result, I began to act out and get into trouble. I struggled throughout elementary school with teachers who thought less of me and treated me differently because of the way I looked. I did not blame them. All the odds were against me, I was supposed to fail. When I started fifth grade my original teacher had to go on maternity leave so we had an interim teacher named Mrs. Zerella, whom I grew to become very fond of. Mrs. Zerella never treated me any differently. She offered to tutor me every day to ensure I passed my SOLs. She even took walks with me when I was having a bad day. She was the only teacher in my life at the time who believed in me and encouraged me. I looked at her as a role model. I trusted her, and I respected her as a teacher. When I finished elementary school she told me “I’m always rooting for you, I can't wait to see who you grow up to be,” and from that day forward I pushed myself to be the best, to be the smartest. My high school teacher, Ms. Free has a personality like no other, she pushed me to be the best teacher that I could be, by making me do internship blogs every week, teaching me how to lesson plan, and supporting me and my growth throughout the years. During my senior year, she helped change my mindset of how I saw teachers. The hard work they do goes unappreciated. As I started interning, I began to create bonds with my students, and they slowly made me realize there’s no better job in this world to help kids than to become a teacher. Now as my senior year comes to an end and I’m wrapping up my internship with my third graders, I understand why people become teachers. There’s no better reward in this world than to see a child learn and grow.

The moment I knew I wanted to be a teacher was at the end of my eleventh-grade year of high school. I was writing a “Why do you want to be a teacher?” essay in my Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow class. When I first signed up for the class, my initial plan was to learn more about kids so I could be a Child Psychologist, but as time went on I started enjoying all the “tedious” aspects of teaching: such as lesson planning, making anchor charts, and creating worksheets. I finally started to be on “the other side of the desk” as Mrs. Free would say. Growing up I had a rough childhood, and my parents were in and out of jail. When I was born I got put straight into foster care, and then I was legally adopted by my aunt at two years old. I grew up in Newark, New Jersey where education opportunities and resources were scarce. I was a straight-A student and always on the principal’s list until one day my mom decided to move us to Summit, New Jersey. When we moved, only four people in the school looked like me. I was an outsider to them. I struggled to make friends, but I also struggled in school. My mom was notified that it might be in my best interest to repeat the second grade. I was on a low reading level, and a low math level, and I could barely write five sentences. Being the new girl and feeling “dumb” truly embarrassed me, and as a result, I began to act out and get into trouble. I struggled throughout elementary school with teachers who thought less of me and treated me differently because of the way I looked. I did not blame them. All the odds were against me, I was supposed to fail. When I started fifth grade my original teacher had to go on maternity leave so we had an interim teacher named Mrs. Zerella, whom I grew to become very fond of. Mrs. Zerella never treated me any differently. She offered to tutor me every day to ensure I passed my SOLs. She even took walks with me when I was having a bad day. She was the only teacher in my life at the time who believed in me and encouraged me. I looked at her as a role model. I trusted her, and I respected her as a teacher. When I finished elementary school she told me “I’m always rooting for you, I can't wait to see who you grow up to be,” and from that day forward I pushed myself to be the best, to be the smartest. My high school teacher, Ms. Free has a personality like no other, she pushed me to be the best teacher that I could be, by making me do internship blogs every week, teaching me how to lesson plan, and supporting me and my growth throughout the years. During my senior year, she helped change my mindset of how I saw teachers. The hard work they do goes unappreciated. As I started interning, I began to create bonds with my students, and they slowly made me realize there’s no better job in this world to help kids than to become a teacher. Now as my senior year comes to an end and I’m wrapping up my internship with my third graders, I understand why people become teachers. There’s no better reward in this world than to see a child learn and grow.

The moment I knew I wanted to be a teacher was at the end of my eleventh-grade year of high school. I was writing a “Why do you want to be a teacher?” essay in my Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow class. When I first signed up for the class, my initial plan was to learn more about kids so I could be a Child Psychologist, but as time went on I started enjoying all the “tedious” aspects of teaching: such as lesson planning, making anchor charts, and creating worksheets. I finally started to be on “the other side of the desk” as Mrs. Free would say. Growing up I had a rough childhood, and my parents were in and out of jail. When I was born I got put straight into foster care, and then I was legally adopted by my aunt at two years old. I grew up in Newark, New Jersey where education opportunities and resources were scarce. I was a straight-A student and always on the principal’s list until one day my mom decided to move us to Summit, New Jersey. When we moved, only four people in the school looked like me. I was an outsider to them. I struggled to make friends, but I also struggled in school. My mom was notified that it might be in my best interest to repeat the second grade. I was on a low reading level, and a low math level, and I could barely write five sentences. Being the new girl and feeling “dumb” truly embarrassed me, and as a result, I began to act out and get into trouble. I struggled throughout elementary school with teachers who thought less of me and treated me differently because of the way I looked. I did not blame them. All the odds were against me, I was supposed to fail. When I started fifth grade my original teacher had to go on maternity leave so we had an interim teacher named Mrs. Zerella, whom I grew to become very fond of. Mrs. Zerella never treated me any differently. She offered to tutor me every day to ensure I passed my SOLs. She even took walks with me when I was having a bad day. She was the only teacher in my life at the time who believed in me and encouraged me. I looked at her as a role model. I trusted her, and I respected her as a teacher. When I finished elementary school she told me “I’m always rooting for you, I can't wait to see who you grow up to be,” and from that day forward I pushed myself to be the best, to be the smartest. My high school teacher, Ms. Free has a personality like no other, she pushed me to be the best teacher that I could be, by making me do internship blogs every week, teaching me how to lesson plan, and supporting me and my growth throughout the years. During my senior year, she helped change my mindset of how I saw teachers. The hard work they do goes unappreciated. As I started interning, I began to create bonds with my students, and they slowly made me realize there’s no better job in this world to help kids than to become a teacher. Now as my senior year comes to an end and I’m wrapping up my internship with my third graders, I understand why people become teachers. There’s no better reward in this world than to see a child learn and grow.