You know, I guess I've always known that I'm supposed to be a teacher. Sometimes, though, I decide that I want to be something else first.
I was always one of those kids who wanted to be everythingintheworldatonce when I grew up, and now that I'm here, I've been a lot of things that I never planned or expected to have under my belt. For example, when I was ten, I never expected or particularly wanted to be a receptionist, a babysitter, a youth group leader, a chiropractic assistant, a server in a Mexican restaurant. (And yes, that basically covers the abbreviated version of my resume, in case you were wondering.) However, through all of the awesome and badass jobs I've wanted to have in the past, there's always been something on my heart telling me that someday, I will be a teacher. And a good one, at that.
I am so incredibly blessed to have had the teachers that I did when I was in high school. I still communicate with some of them, and I have such an immense respect for all of them. One of my teachers in particular has been a model for how I want to teach. She was my Reading for Pleasure teacher (yes, that class exists, and it's great! I took it twice), and I hope that one day I'll be half the teacher she is.
I know that teaching is hard, but that doesn't bother me. However, it's getting to that point that has been making me crazy lately. I'm getting a degree in linguistics and a degree in Spanish, and I've only got three semesters left to graduate. When I declared my Spanish major, my adviser asked if I wanted to get my teaching certificate and at the time, I was like, "Nah, I don't need that right now." Because eventually, I probably won't. My goal is to get my doctorate and at that point I'll be teaching university anyway, so what's the point? But recently I realized that I may not get to go straight to grad school, and everyone knows there's no jobs in linguistics unless you're lucky, so what am I left with after graduation? *shrug* I guess I could teach high school Spanish?
So I looked at what is required to get my teaching certificate. If I add it onto my degree, that's an extra 24-27 hours of classes I'll need. Ain't nobody got time for that! Well...when I think about it, I probably do. I'm set to graduate in December of 2015, so there won't be any teaching jobs available to me in the spring anyway. I could extend my graduation date another semester...But I really don't want to do that. I'm so close! I could get my certificate through an alternative program, but do they really teach you as much? And then there's the issue of where I'll be living after graduation. I honestly don't see myself staying in Texas (although between you and me, I absolutely love DFW and would not mind staying in the Dallas area at all), so wherever I go I would just have to get certified in that state anyway. *sigh*
As I'm weighing all my options, I'm trying to figure out which will be best for me and which will be best for my future. No pressure or anything, right? I wouldn't be worrying about it this much if I didn't know for sure that I was meant to teach.
After I graduated high school, I was talking to that aforementioned Reading for Pleasure teacher of mine. We met for coffee and to exchange books and catch up. She told me that she had always hoped that I would become a teacher, because she could tell that I would make a good one. Wow, what a compliment coming from someone like her!
On top of that, I've been feeling like I've gotten a lot of confirmation recently that teaching is in fact what I should be doing. Yes, I still want to be in the military (that's another story for another post, though). Yes, I still want to be a spy (completely serious). Yes, I still want to do something awesome and intense and something that people would go "Wow! You actually do that? That's so cool!" when I tell them what I do (if I was allowed to tell them, ha!). And it's really sad that teaching isn't respected in this country as the awesome, challenging job that it is, but when it comes down to it, I want to do what makes me happy. And I can't imagine anything making me happy like teaching does.
So to all you teachers out there, thank you. I truly admire what you do.
Love Always,
Kristin
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