As you're growing up through the elementary and middle school grades, you are constantly asked the famous question: what do you want to be when you grow up? Most people answer with an astronaut, the president, a professional athlete of any sport or even a princess. For me, the answer was always the same; I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I dreamed of having my own classroom where I would be in front of the room teaching students. I would write math problems on the white board with a blue expo marker as my students would eagerly raise their hands as they answer correctly. My dream classroom was the ideal place to be. After my senior year of high school leading into now my senior year of college, I have realized that I don't want to be a teacher anymore. Instead, I want to be more than just a teacher.

It wasn't until I started observing in classrooms and meeting students that I realized that being a teacher is more than writing problems on a white board and assigning homework. It's more than being the head of the classroom as the one perceived with all the knowledge and all of the right answers. Instead, it's late hours staying up writing lesson plans, writing emails, sitting in long meetings and coming into school the next day with a smile even though you had limited hours of sleep the night before. This was certainly not what I thought I was signing up for. My perception of being a teacher was starting to change, but it wasn't until long that I realized it was for the better.

Yes, I am going to one day have a classroom of my own and I am going to be known as the teacher, but I want to be known for more. I want to be known as the person who helped inspire my students. There are going to be students in my classroom who do not want to be there and they count down the minutes until they're out of the building for the day. I want to reach out to those students and help them see the value in themselves and education. I want them to dream big and have big ambitions where they feel on top of the world. I will always support their dreams and continue to help them reach them no matter how ambiguous they are.

I want to be the person who my students feel safe with academically and socially. I do, however, understand that there is a line you cannot cross from being their friend and being their teacher. It is not my job to know everything going on in their lives, but I want them to feel comfortable speaking up to me whether it be someone is picking on them, they got a new puppy at home or anything they need to vent about. They won't be scared to ask me for help, either, and I will always be the first one to stay after school hours to help them in whatever subject it is. My students will know that I will always have their back and defend them when needed.

I want to be the person who instilled courage within my students. There are going to be students in my classroom who don't understand the concept I am teaching. I want my them to be able to believe in themselves even though they don't understand the concept today, but tomorrow they will if they work hard. They will gain the courage to ask for extra help instead of sitting in the back of the classroom pretending they are understanding. Or, I want my students to gain the courage to stand up for themselves in a difficult situation. Lastly, I want my students to have the courage to try new things and step out of the comfort zone because it may surprise them.

I want to be the person who made a difference in my students' lives because I know they will make a difference in mine. I have already met students through observation hours who have made an impact on me. I get excited when I see them in public and they are just as excited to see me. As a middle school teacher, I am going to come into their lives at a delegate age as they are starting to figure out who they are since they are slowly becoming more independent and encountering more responsibilities. Even though I will be about halfway through their schooling career of K-12, I hope I become the person they always come to even when they are done in my classroom. I would love to have visitors and know my students still think of me. I only hope that I have at least one student say they are who they are or they chose a path because I helped guide them. If at least one student can honestly say I had that sort of impact on them, well then I could call myself successful.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a teacher as a person or thing that teaches something; especially a person whose job is to teach students about certain subjects. That's what I wanted to be; I wanted to teach subjects. Now, I want to inspire, create a safe haven, encourage and make a difference. I will still be a teacher, but I will be more than the basic definition.