I often wonder when people will find their calling in life. Some find it when they are young, some when they are older. My future is something that can touch one's life forever. This is something that can be the reason somebody smiles. I have done many things to help people out. From the simple smiling at someone to being the reason some people are smiling today, I have made an impact on lives. I don't want this to sound like I am bragging. I do not brag about anything in my life. I am being kind not because I want attention; I am doing it because I want people to be happy. In our society today people are conceived to believe that you have to look or act a certain way in order to be happy. This is not the case and people aren't aware of this. I like to let people know they are wonderful and equal to everyone else.

I am a freshman at Georgian Court University with a major in english special education teaching. Since elementary school, I have worked with disabled children. I see the beauty in them and I see they want to fit in with everyone else. I know many people with disabilities and I have helped them through the good and bad times. It wasn't easy, but what matters to me is that I made a difference in their lives. I have learned so much from each and every one of them. They were the ones that have struggled, conquered and become stronger. When I was in high school, I worked with the special education students in gym. They were called partners but I preferred to call them my friends. Each and every one of those students had something wonderful to give and I saw it in them. Whether it was how they memorized what happened in a sports game the day before or remembering everyone's exact birthday, they amazed me with their brilliance. Not a day goes by where I don't think about how amazing it was to help and work with these kids. When they used to see me in the hallway, they got so excited to see me as I did for them. They learn a little differently than others do, but that is okay. That doesn't make them less of a person than you are.

Entering high school, I had thoughts of becoming a nurse or science teacher. I did want to be a teacher, but it was around the middle of my junior year when I realized I was meant to do a specific job.

I was meant to become a special education teacher.

When I tell people that this is the career I want to pursue they either love the idea or look at me like I am crazy. I got asked once why I would ever think of becoming a teacher, special education no doubt. I was in shock on how somebody can say that. Students are people to, some need more of a push than others, and that is okay. This negativity that some people have is the reason why students can get angry and upset. I don't see how somebody can say such cruel things on students who cannot control what's happening to them and about students as a whole. I cannot imagine how these students feel. When people make fun of them, they know it. Just because they can't express it, doesn't mean they don't hear the hurtful words. A hurtful word is a hurtful word no matter who you say it to. I will not tolerate any of this when I am a teacher. Each of the students will be my own and no negativity will be permitted.

I am looking forward to continuing my education and journey to achieve my dream. I will get my certificate for special education teaching and become a teacher that these students can look up to. It takes a special person to become a teacher. I hope I can be that person, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. You have to be the inspiring person a student wants to see everyday. I was lucky enough to have teachers that were amazing, which is one of the reasons I chose this career path. I will take their traits and ideas so I can be just as inspiring as they were to me. It may be challenging at first, as everything in life is a challenge, but I am up for the challenge. Even if I only touch one student's life, I have done something. One student will be much happier because somebody did not give up on them.