If you're any type of education major, you know the look I am about to describe.

The look a person gives you when they ask what your major is and you respond proudly with, "education."It's a look of shock and somewhat disappointment. This is the look that causes you to second guess whether you should be a teacher. It's the look that causes so many education majors to feel like they are just settling for a career.

To my fellow education majors out there, I have a word of advice: Turn around and walk away from anyone who has anything negative to say about being an educator.

Education is one of the most rewarding majors a college student could choose. The reason education majors are so valuable to me is because they are obviously not doing it for the money and they are not doing it to glorify themselves (because let's be honest, teachers deal with a lot of crap from not only parents but also school systems and from the government).

Teaching is an honor. It is one of the greatest blessings that anyone could ever receive. I believe that teaching must be a God-calling, because the cons outweigh the pros heavily. But, if it's a God calling, all the cons are worth the sacrifice for those few pros.

For me, being an education major is more than just teaching kids how to multiply and pronounce syllables. It's about investing my life into the lives of the future generations. Teaching is devoting countless hours, many tears, and a lot of hard work into the children that have no one else to believe in them. Teaching is sparking a flame inside of a child that will burn for the rest of their life. Teaching is showing endless love to children who might not receive that love when they walk out of my classroom. Teaching is waking up every morning and knowing in your heart that you are doing exactly what God has called you to do.

For every late night I stay up studying, for every lecture I dread going to, for every midterm paper I finish at the last minute, for every cry-session I have in the shower because I am so stressed out, I am thankful. Because it's one more late night, one more lecture, one more paper, and one more breakdown that reminds me that everything I am working so hard for will one day pay off. That moment when I open up my classroom door on the first day of school to wide-eyed, beautiful, precious children who I am called to love will make it all worth it.

Thank you to all the educators who spend every day pouring their heart and soul into the children they have been given. On the days that are the hardest and the days your kids act like the spawns of Satan, just remember the bigger picture. Remember that not only are you a role model for the children in your classrooms, but also for the teachers in-the-making.

So to me, teaching is far from settling. It's a blessing that only some will receive, and I am forever thankful for it.