Just the other night I was procrastinating on doing homework, just as any determined college student would, flipping through my social media just to have something to do. While on Snapchat, I was reading the articles under Discover and I came across one named "People With These Majors Will Be Broke AF." Nice well-worded title, right? It's gotta be super interesting. Not to my surprise, education ranked at "Broke AF" number four. I'm fully aware that teaching isn't a very affluent job to go into, if you're talking about money, anyways. But is that all you look for in an occupation: a paycheck?
Of course, you have to pay the bills, but what about a peace of mind? Does a lawyer have that? What about a sense of adventure? Does an accountant get that? No disrespect towards these majors and jobs, if that's what you like to do, then more power to you. Now, let's say you're working eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. Not too bad, right? Until you realize that's 2,087 hours a year, 261 days of working out of 365. When you're working until you can retire, is it really all about the money? You hear so many Americans complaining about how they hate their jobs and how their hair is turning grey.
While being a teacher won't be all fun and games, it'll definitely beat sitting at a desk all day. You will get to teach the things you are passionate about to people you are passionate about. You will be able to see a little bit of yourself in even the worst kids and know you were a concrete asset in helping them move to the next chapter of their life. You may even be the key thing getting them through the day sometimes. I know I had my moments in high school where I couldn't help but lean on a very busy, but an understanding educator. Some of my teachers helped get me out of the deepest holes I dug for myself and assisted in turning me into the student I always wanted to be, but couldn't do alone.
But as they said in the article on Discover, "on the bright side, as a teacher you have the power to teach kids what profession not to go into when they get older." While this is obviously satirical and not meant to be taken seriously, many people do think that teaching is a s*** job. Quite honestly, my teachers in high school and even before that strongly influenced my decision to become an educator. High school was by far the worst four years of my life and I wouldn't have been able to get through it without some very special adults. They taught me so much more than just math, reading, and science. They taught me that I truly can get through whatever obstacle is thrown at me, hardball or not. They taught me that life goes on.
Most importantly, my teachers have turned school into learning. They made it not just a place that I had to be, but a place that I wanted to be. They showed me that a well-rounded education will make me more attractive, more interesting, and an overall better person. They always pushed me to take the honors or AP classes even if I didn't want to, and when I thought I couldn't they showed me just how much I could. And one day, I will hopefully be able to have the same effect on a countless number of individuals.
That, to me, is worth so much more than any paycheck could ever offer. As it was so well put by the musician Mod Sun, "money's cool but I'd rather make a memory."
