Journaling: Maybe it was the countless hours of playing school with my little sister or was it going to school in a one room country school where the older students helped the younger students when finished with their assignments, but I have always wanted to be a teacher. I surrounded myself with opportunities to teach when growing up: helping at Vacation Bible School, baby-sitting, and internship in a kindergarten class. Ignoring the constant banter about teachers poor pay or others trying to persuade me to try different careers, I also came back to a career in education. I started my first teaching position with excitement and anxiety, wanting to make a difference in the lives of my students. It is that spark of seeing someone learn something new for the first time is what keeps me teaching. I have taught young and old, small town and suburbs, rich and poor, large school and small, but they all have that same twinkle in their eye when they finally get it. My path has changed over the years as I know teach teachers more than I work with young students, but my goal is still the same. I still the start each school year with the happiness of buying new school supplies and nervously picking out my first day of school outfit. And as a start my tenth year as an educator, it is that joy in teaching others how to be their best that drives me to be the best teacher I can be.

Materials: Mikkel Paige To The Blackboard Kit and Danielle Young Park Avenue element