One of the first things that people say to me when they find out that I am a special education major is that "it takes a special person to be in that field." Although they mean well by this comment, I hate it. I hate that there is some special trait that simply being this major gives you. I’m not special. I’m a woman with love and compassion for all people, of all ages and of all abilities. I’m a woman who loves children and who loves the look in a child’s eyes when they learn something new. I am a woman who wants nothing more than to positively affect the youth of our nation through so much more than simply being able to educate them and for them to meet standards set by my state.

I am not special. I am not overly patient. I have faults and weaknesses. But one thing that I do have is love for these children and the children of our nation, and that is something that everyone should have, not just someone who is going into the field of education. As much I cannot wait to teach these children, I cannot wait to grow from watching them. In the time that I have spent around children with Intellectual Disabilities, I have learned more about life than in the 20 years I have been on this Earth.

For example, when you walk into a special education classroom the first thing you notice is the atmosphere. There is such a tight bond between these children. They love each other. These children quickly become each other’s family away from their family at home. I have never experienced this kind of friendship for myself. I have only watched children form these tight bonds with each other, their aides, and the teachers that help them day to day. I’m not special because I have never been able to love a friend or value a friend the way they can, but after being around that type of setting, I learned just how important it is.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I forget to appreciate the little things in life. I go through my days worrying about the big picture. I worry about my grades, my family, my relationships, or my career. So many times I forget to just slow down and smile because I’m alive. These children do that every day. I have never been around a group of people who can just make you focus on the good the way these children can. I have learned to love the little things in life. I have learned to appreciate the tiniest little accomplishments because to someone else these small things might mean the world. I am not special because these things didn’t come to me naturally. I’m not special because I didn’t come on to this Earth knowing these lessons, but the children that I will teach one day are special, because somehow to them this is innate.

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be an educator. From the moment my little feet walked into my first grade classroom, I knew this is where I wanted to be. As I grew older and had opportunities to get involved in classrooms, I realized that there is something so beautiful and extraordinary about the interaction between younger students and their classmates in the special education setting. Children are born with the love and compassion to help each other. They are born not knowing differences and often times when they recognize these differences, they look past them. They ask questions about these students, not to make fun of them or judge them, but to learn about them. Children are curious, but they are not cruel. I am not special. I simply did not let society corrupt my idea of what “normal” should be, the same way young students haven’t yet been corrupted with the mentality that something is only right if it is the same as everyone else.

I am not special. Anyone can be in this field. The simple truth is that you have to be able to block out what society says. What is “normal”? My normal and your normal are so different in so many ways. My daily life, your daily life, and a child with an intellectual disability’s daily life are all incredibly different. None of our daily routines would be “normal” to each other. As cliché as this sounds, being different is beautiful and “normal” and I have learned that from these children. They are special.

They are special because they have lit this fire within me and given me something to spend my days loving. The fire they have ignited is an eternal flame with no potential of burning out even through stormy times. They have given me a home and they have given me something that I will have for the rest of my life. They have taught me and loved me and appreciated me. They have smiled with me and laughed with me, even when there were some days that all I wanted to do was break down and cry.

So, with this, I urge you to become involved in your community and involved in the special education community. Parents, I urge you to take the time to have your children exposed to children with Intellectual Disabilities and have them take opportunities to volunteer at camps or at school with these students. It is a wonderful chance for your children to branch out and see life from a different perspective, even if they are young. I hope that you will be as positively affected as I have been from these children and I hope that you can see that I am not “special” for wanting to teach these children, but these children are “special” because of what they have taught me.