What Inspires You?

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.