Change of Heart

High school has been a tough four years, filled with trying to figure out whether college is the right move for me and figuring out what makes me happy. I HATED the classroom, I didn't understand why I was being forced to sit in a classroom and learn about stuff that I felt didn't impact me. I decided early on that college wasn't right for me and I didn't care about it from then on. 

Sophomore year I got the chance to go on a mission trip to Santa Matlida, Nicaragua for my spring break. We spent a week in this village building relationships with the children and other woman we met. Learning how they grew up and comparing and contrasting how I grew up with them. We went into a house where the grandmother was raising the kids because the father had died of kidney failure and the mother had died of cancer. The kids were unable to go to school because their grandma now has cancer and they had to stay home and take care of her and the house. More stories like this came up and I could feel my heart break into thousands of pieces. How is it that I take school so lightly when kids don't even have the option to go and they dream of going to school. I went through that whole week with a heavy heart learning about what the kids go through on a daily basis. We had gone around and asked what the ladies of the village would be if they could go to school and further their education. Most of them wanted to be nurses and teachers. Some wanted to be a construction worker, or an architect. Seeing their passion for learning really made me question why I hadn't taken it so seriously. That night in my bunk bed I started thinking if I was asked that question what would I be. And the weirdest job came to mind. Being a teacher was what I was meant to do. 

A teacher? Really? I hated being in a classroom let alone having to work in there. And now this was what I thought I needed to do for my life? But then I thought about it even more and thought about how amazing my teachers are/ were and how much they shaped my life. Not only teaching me things about school but teaching me things that I needed to know for my personal life. My teachers taught me lessons on how to be a better person and what kind of friend is better to have in my life. 

I got home and started realizing how much school is a gift to everyone who goes to it. So many people especially in America complain about school and say how much they don't want to be there but kids in third world countries only dream about miracles happening to them to be able to go to school. 

When I came home, I brought this new attitude with me. School sucks sometimes but it's important for me to work hard and get a college education to pursue my future as an elementary  school teacher. If any of my former teachers are reading this, I want to thank you so much for the amount of work that you put in everyday to help inspire and further each one of us. We complain so much and teachers don't always get credit or awards they deserve. 

Thank y'all for reading