I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life in fourth grade. I went home every day brought out my chalkboard and got to work teaching my invisible classroom filled with pretend people. But, I couldn't have realized that teaching the small minds of the future was my passion without my fourth-grade teacher.
I sat in her classroom every day with bright eyes admiring the way she taught, admiring her closeness with every single one of her students and admiring the way she was loved by 30 plus students.
I vividly remember she offered teacher edition books to a few of my friends and me in the class. We all wanted them, we literally fought over which book we wanted. I wanted the religion book because that was her favorite subject. She was so passionate about God and her favorite Saint, St Philomena. When she drew my name out of her handy dandy "popsicle stick cup" for the religion book I've never been so happy.
That day I ran upstairs to my room, not even stopping to say "hi" to my mom and taught my pretend students all about the book.
I truthfully don't think that I would've been so invested in teaching if she hadn't given me that teacher's edition book. It made everything so official--like I was actually a teacher.
She was so young, and if I remember correctly we were her first classroom of kids to herself. It made us feel so important because everyone in the school loved her and wanted her as a teacher.
Commitment freaks me out but, when I had to apply for colleges and put what my desired major was I never been so sure about anything in my entire life. She truly has made the biggest impact in my entire life. She was automatically everything I wanted to be when I grew up. She was super nice--sometimes too nice. But she knew how to discipline her students.
She taught me so much about myself and uncovered that I, as a fourth grader had such a bigger purpose in my life and still does as a freshman in college. As a fourth grader, I swallowed her characteristics and applied it to when I taught my pretend class, and even today as I walk into classrooms and teach.
I couldn't thank her enough for inspiring me to be something much bigger than myself. To this day, a wife and mother of two beautiful children she still inspires me to be the student, friend, mother and the best teacher I could possibly be.