Every day the world is shouting all kinds of lies at you.

“You are not good enough.”
“You are weak."
“You are a disappointment.”
“You do not have a voice.”
"You are not capable."

In a world where some people choose to see a disability rather than a person, I choose to see a person. As your special education teacher, here are the truths you must know as you step inside the four walls of my classroom and into my heart:

1. You are not a mistake.

You were not created by accident. God’s hands did not make any flaws when creating your beautiful soul. You make a difference in this world, that is why you are in it. You add beauty to a world that often forgets what true beauty looks like. You add joy to moments that most forget to see joy in. You are a light in the darkness. You see things others forget to look at. You are wonderful and beautiful. You matter. You are not a mistake.

2. You are strong.

I know each day poses a new challenge for you. I know there are days you wish you could drag others into your world just so they could understand you, even if only for a few minutes. I know you fight each day to control your emotions, your body, and your thoughts. I know you face challenges that most will never come by in a lifetime. I know. But I also know you have a strength so mighty it puts the rest of us to shame. You have a fight within you that most never find within themselves. You are determined. You are resilient. You are strong.

3. You will never disappoint me.

There will never be a day that goes by where I am not proud of you. You will fail and you will mess up, but you will never let me down. There will be hard days. There will be days when you lose your temper, you make mistakes, and you take five steps backward, but you are brave for showing up in the first place. When the hard days are over, I promise I will fight harder to help you succeed tomorrow. I will listen to you closer, I will look at things from your perspective, and together we will take six steps forward. No matter what, always know you are courageous for trying and you will never disappoint me.

4. You have a voice.

You deserve to be heard by myself, by your peers, and by the world. You have influence and you have value. I promise I will do everything in my power to let you be heard. You do not need to speak to be understood. You do not need to form sentences to have an opinion. And in a world that is overpowered by that idea, I promise to listen to your voice no matter how loud, how quiet, or how unique it may be. In my classroom, you always have a voice.

5. You are not alone.

You can kick me, hit me, scream at me, curse at me and even hate me, but unlike countless other relationships in your life, please know I am not going anywhere. I will not give up on you. I will not leave you. I will not walk away from you. Some days you may feel as though you’re standing in a crowded room screaming for help and not a single person is listening, but I am. I am in that room with you and I am listening. Maybe I don’t understand what you’re going through and maybe I can’t put together the broken pieces, but I can walk next to you on your journey to healing. We are all broken and we are all in need of someone to help us sweep up our shattered pieces and begin gluing them back together. It will be painful, it will be scary, and it will be excruciatingly difficult, but no matter how long it takes, the broom is in my hand and I am ready to start sweeping. I will always be here for you. You are not alone.

You are not just another student to me. You are not just a number or a test score. You are a wonderful, brilliant, creative, and irreplaceable individual that is loved deeply and it is a privilege to be your teacher.