When I was younger, I loved playing school with my little sister. Being the eldest, I of course, always was the teacher. As I grew older, I played with the idea of being a hair stylist, a therapist, a radio disc jockey, and a writer. My dreams changed like the Nebraska weather, but I always came back to the goal of being a teacher. Maybe it was because it was familiarity or because of going to a one room country school where the older students were teachers for the younger students. Others told me, I was too smart to be a teacher, that teachers didnt make very much money, it was a thankless job, and that I can do better. Their pessimism did not deflate my dreams.

In junior high, my best friend and I started working with kids as an HIV/AIDS trainer who did puppet shows for elementary kids. Next, I was a peer educator in high school with FHA and FBLA. My part-time jobs consisted of baby-sitting for the neighboring families. I looked at other occupations during career days and shadowing experiences, but nothing felt right. As a senior, I did an internship in a kindergarten class and I never looked back. The more time I spent with children, the more it confirmed my career choice.

Now with ten years of being in the classroom, I still love watching students learn something new. The look in their eyes when they get it is priceless. I do not have my own classroom any more as I am currently a literacy facilitator which allows me to work with students and teachers with my passions, reading and writers. And yes, it is true, teachers do not make very much money and some days are more stressful than others, but I wouldnt change it for the world. Teaching is my dream!

Materials: Oscraps School Is Cool kit, Mikkel Paiges To The Blackboard pencil, and Taylormades Scattered Freebie frames.