Today I got the opportunity to listen to the speaker and author Matt de la Peña. Before coming to the presentation, I had no idea who he was, but I'm extremely glad I went- because he truly did inspire me. He shared the story of how he grew up, and what school was like for him.

As a future educator, I found a few things that he said especially intriguing.

He spoke about labels, and where they subconsciously come from. He mentioned that parents will sometimes give labels to their children, like "oh here's my son, he's the basketball player, and here's my daughter- the artist" and it's pretty hard to break free from those labels given to us by our parents or by society.

I believe that's how stigmas are created- especially within the gender roles. If society sees a man who is being vulnerable, it's seen as breaking the status-quo. If there's a woman who isn't naturally nurturing and does not want children, everyone in our society seems to freak out a bit. These labels and these stigmas in our society do more harm than good.

However, Matt de la Peña did mention that the hardest label to free yourself from is the one that you've placed on yourself. I think that there's a ton of truth to that. Sometimes we listen to society and to the people around us and determine that because someone told me that I was *insert quality trait*, then I MUST be *insert quality trait*. His example was "bad at school". And that, as a future teacher, breaks my heart.

As humans, we naturally place things on ourselves all of the time. Such as "not enough" or "ugly" or "dumb" or (in a more positive light) "athlete", "artist", "musician", or "scholar". And I believe this happens due to our outside influences and what we choose to believe about ourselves. I believe that teachers have a very strong influence in breaking some of those labels. I want to be a teacher because I want to be the voice that speaks louder than the labels.

I want to make sure every child knows that they are allowed to be vulnerable, and they are allowed to feel things. I want them to know that they are capable, and wipe away all of these labels that they've started to believe about themselves- even the good ones. If I am lucky enough to teach for a religious school district, I hope each child knows that their only label should be "Child of God".

Teachers can change the world. If Matt de la Peña taught me anything today, it's that it only takes one teacher to believe in you and it only takes that one teacher to break all of the old labels so that you can become something great.