I can count on many hands how many times when I tell people that I want to be a teacher, I get mixed reactions. Some people are excited and encourage me to pursue a career in education. But often, other people are not so understanding. When people ask me what my major is, I always respond with "English teaching with a special education minor." I sometimes even get an "Oh, really"—then the conversation is over. I always wondered why I got that response, but then I got to thinking—I knew why.

Let's be honest—education is the career path hat barely anyone wants to take anymore. Maybe it's because of the pay, the students, the lack of benefits, state testing, etc. Especially in today’s society, education is a field that is looked down upon, and is slowly changing for the worse. I come from a long line of teachers, I grew up in a household with both my parents as teachers. I know personally what the field of education entails, from the long hours without pay to the students you deal with on a daily basis. I just have always known that education was the field for me. For example, when I was a little girl, I would take my stuffed animals, sit them in chairs, and play school for hours on end. I knew even at that young age that I had to become a teacher.

I understand that it does require some gruesome work like mentioned earlier, but to me, that's what I will enjoy. I know I will have the dreadful things like standing in front of a classroom with students staring you down with beady eyes and the state testing. I knew, and still know, that education is the field for me.

I am very confident that teaching is the career for me—so confident that this past August, I packed my life up and moved three hours away from home to go Indiana’s best teaching college, Indiana State University. Sometimes, you have to make some sacrifices to achieve your dreams, so I did. I don't regret it one bit.

Teenagers across the country need a difference made in their lives, need a direction and someone to help them. That’s what I want to do, I want to be that teacher to encourage them and to make a small—hopefully a huge—impact. That’s what the education system needs these days, not the state testing, the standards, just simply, someone who cares. It's one of the many reasons, why someday, I will be an educator.