To remind and encourage my students to find what they are passionate about. Passion is what drives me, it is an umbrella term that reminds me why I care and why I want to make a difference – because I am passionate about supporting and inspiring others. This desire pushes me to persevere through the hard times, to continually see the best and the potential in my students so that I can help them become all that they can be, both in and out of the classroom. I want to be that stable and constant voice in their lives that speaks to their confidence, their goodness, and to become their activist because I believe in every child’s worth. This starts by creating a safe space that is structured by rules which are there to reassure them that they are cared for, loved, and worthy of respect. Each and every one of my students will contribute to a shared goal of success and achievement, both in their academic and social life, where they will discover what makes them unique and special and where differences are celebrated rather than discouraged. Open communication and mutual respect will build solid foundations of trust and genuine relationship with my students and with their peers. It is my goal to shape my students vision of themselves into one that is positive, radiating with confidence, and cultivating a future that can become attainable for them. This can be seen in the joy that I receive when I am in relationship with others, to be that person that is capable of making an impact in someone’s life and to be that person they can look back on and say that they were influential in making a difference. I want to create a safe haven for my students where they feel secure, valued, and ultimately, find their worth and their identity.

When people ask me why I want to be a teacher, I will give them some sort of summed up version of this. Why? Because being a teacher is being so much more than a person who stands up at the front of a classroom and teaches little kids what 1+1 is. Because we are not in it for the money (trust me, I'm VERY aware we will be making nada).

But because we truly care. We are invested. We are servants. Maybe some of us consider it a calling. Some of us believe it is our destiny and what we were made for.

People say that it takes a special person to be a teacher. I think that it is certain characteristics that set us apart. It shows who the good teachers are and the ones who don't really care. You can see the difference in the effort given, in the exhausted but happy smiles, in the long days, in the crying kids, in the desperate and lost times, but they persevere. They keep going the extra mile. They paste on that cheerful smile. And they get up every day and do it again because they want to.