To be completely honest, I didn’t always know that I wanted to teach.
I actually used to want to be in the marine science field. I even went to school
for it my freshman year. However, when it was finally becoming real, I wasn’t
very passionate about it. I didn’t want to go through life not enjoying what I was doing,
and at the time I was attending Texas A&M Corpus Christi which was a far way from home.
So, I decided to transfer schools. When transferring, I didn’t know what I wanted to study.
I took a while to think about it, talking to friends and family and getting their insight.
My dad is actually the one who suggested I should consider teaching.
I thought about it, and I’ve always liked kids, coming from a big family and having
babysat as a teenager as well as volunteer at a summer camp for a few years.
I decided to go for it! And I’m so glad I did. Coming to Texas State really changed my life.
I was in classes that were so much more interesting, and surrounded by so many
like-minded peers. I felt like I finally found my path.
When volunteering as a camp counselor, I got to work with children ranging from
6 years old to 17 years old. It was really cool to be able to get to know the younger
children as well as the older kids. From this and from a later job as a pre-school
teacher, I learned that I work well with all ages, but I especially enjoy working in
the 4th/5th grade range. When they’re that age it’s so cool to see kids forming
their own personalities and starting to express their individuality. As far as subject-wise,
I always enjoyed English and science, however I’ve started to really appreciate history
and social studies in recent years. Most schools have teachers in the intermediate
range teaching two or more subjects, so if I were to pick two it would probably be
English and social studies. If possible though, I’d like to be able to teach math and
science as well because I really do enjoy all of the subjects. Something that I’ve
recently decided as I’ve grown into my spirituality is that I want to implement it into
my classroom and reflect it in my teaching style. I’m not quite sure how yet, but I’ve
seen a lot of teachers recently designing their classrooms to introduce their students
to and cultivate emotional intelligence. This inspired me to want to do this with my
own students. I’ve been learning a lot independently through resources on the
internet, but I think that after I graduate I want to further my education with another
higher institution dedicated solely to spirituality. I didn’t know such a thing existed,
but I recently learned of one and it really caught my interest. As I continue in my
journey as an educator, everything just keeps falling into place and
each day I grow more and more excited to see my values coming to fruition.
