I don’t want to be a teacher. That’s right, you heard me.

I don’t want to stay up late all night writing lesson plans, and I don’t want to spend my weeknights grading papers. I don’t want to spend my own money on school supplies, deal with parents who think I’m not doing enough, and sit through countless professional development meetings when I’d rather be napping.

I dread the day that I have to rearrange seating charts for the third time because I just can’t find a spot for that one kid. I really don’t want to answer questions about math homework or explain for the third time that they will use spelling for the rest of their life.

Thinking about waking up everyday and having to be a warrior, against politicians that want to shrink my budget and parents that don’t understand why I’m doing what I do, is exhausting.

The job requirements are overwhelming, the societal stigma is disappointing and the pay sometimes seems impossible to live on.

I don’t want to be a teacher, I want to be a hero.

However, being Superman isn’t a job I can apply for, so I settled for the next best thing: being an educator. I say this because being a teacher is so much more than meets the eye.

I can’t wait to see the look on my students' faces when they write their first letter, or when they bring home their first smiley-face sticker on a test. I can’t wait for the parent-teacher conferences when I get to tell two beaming faces that their kid is making progress and that they should be proud. I can’t wait to spend my day with little hands, big hugs and even bigger smiles.

I can’t wait to watch the lightbulb flick on in their little eyes when they finally finish the problem they’ve been struggling with. I can’t wait to hold little hands as they walk down the hallway and to design fun and innovative games to help my students learn numbers, letters, and a million other things.

Thinking about waking up everyday and changing lives, even in the tiniest of ways, is exhilarating. I can’t wait to show my students that they’re my number one priority, politics be damned.

I don’t want to be a teacher because I’ll never be just a teacher to kids. I’ll be a hugger, a supporter, a champion, an advocate and a million other jobs at once. I don’t want to be a teacher; I want to be a hero, a role model and so much more.