Most people know that I entered college as a Political Science major with the dream of going to Law school one day. How did my career choice change so quickly? I went from wanting to be a lawyer to wanting to be an elementary school teacher. Here are five reasons why I found it more fulfilling to be an education major (apart from the fact that I went to a law school meeting and hated everything I heard).

1. I am setting up a child for success.

When I was considering what grades I wanted to teach, I knew I wanted to teach children because first, middle school children can be kind of crazy and second, I think I’m going to look like a high schooler for the rest of my life. Children are like sponges at a young age and will absorb all of the information I am giving them. I also will be teaching them the stepping stones that will prepare them for their late years of schooling. Without proper elementary school teaching, children will not know the necessary material they will need in order to succeed later on in schooling so it’s exciting that I get to teach them the stepping stones of knowledge.

2. I never have to stop learning.

Learning is something that I find really important. I’ve always loved school; I love coming to school, I love doing homework (sometimes), and I love learning new things. Each year I am a teacher, I will learn more about the curriculum they are learning about, I will learn new teaching skills, and I will learn about each group of students that comes into my classroom. The children will also teach me things about themselves, each other, and myself that wouldn’t be possible if I wasn’t their teacher.

3. I get to teach the next generation of individuals.

The next group of individuals to enter the working force one day will be my students. I know I’m teaching them at a young age, but my teaching will set them up for success. I will be teaching the new generation of doctors, astronauts, engineers, artists, musicians, and even teachers which is pretty freaking cool if you ask me.

4. I am their role model.

Children will be spending every single day (well, 180 days a year) with me and I need to be somebody they can look up to. Besides their families, they will be spending the most day with me. They will look up to me and maybe one day they’ll want to be like me. Elementary school is a very important time for children. I still remember every single one of my teachers’ names and there are teachers that I remember looking up to. Now, as an education major, I am still looking up to those teachers and I want to implement some of their teaching skills into my everyday teaching one day. I hope children will look up to me like this one day.

5. I am making a difference in a child’s life.

If a child is going through a rough time at home, I will be the person to comfort them. If a child hates math, I will be the person to make them love math. There are both small things and large things that I will do that will make a difference in a child’s life. Maybe I will introduce them to information that sets them up for their future career one day. Maybe I will introduce them to theater and they will continue acting for as long as they can. Maybe I will just be the person they need to talk to in a time of need and I will make them feel better during a rough day. I can’t wait to be the person who makes a difference in my students’ lives.

There are many more reasons why being an Education major is important to me, but these reasons ultimately decided my career choice. I couldn’t possibly be a doctor or a nurse but I still wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. Even though they are small children, I will be making a difference and helping individuals. I cannot wait to be a teacher one day.