When I was asked to write my intellectual autobiography I almost panicked. I never enjoyed school and I have never felt confident as a writer, so I thought that after everyone reads my story they would wonder why I became a teacher.

When I look back at my life I am also amazed that I became a teacher. I am an only child who hated school from an early age. I spent most of my preschool years at home with my mom so when I started kindergarten I was devastated. I cried everyday until finally my parents decided they could not take anymore. I became the kindergarten dropout. I can’t remember if it was my decision, my parents, or both but I started back after Christmas break. Luckily for me my parents read to me daily and worked with me at home so I was still more advanced than my other kindergarten classmates. As my elementary and high school years passed I never developed a love for school. However, I had the most wonderful fourth grade teacher who inspired me to become a teacher. She believed in me and left a lasting impression on me. Mrs. B loved me for me. She knew I was a perfectionist and was very hard on myself when I didn’t make all A’s or 100’s. She encouraged me to just do my best and not stress out when I wasn’t “perfect.” She became a role model to me because I looked to her not only as my teacher but also as a classy lady who was never in a gloomy mood. I am sure she had her days just like all teachers do, but she never let her students know. My classmates thought I was her “pet” but I never worried about what they thought, only what Mrs. B thought of me.

Despite my dislike of school I loved to read and play school at home. I can remember my parents reading to me at a very early age. I learned to read before I entered kindergarten, which was a good thing since I only attended half of the year. I was not into girl games and preferred to play with the boys, but I did enjoy playing school. I would sit my stuffed animals on my bed in rows and mimic the behaviors of my teachers.

My love for reading continued until high school when my social interests took over. I hated to sit still and read, I always wanted to be going or doing something. As I look back on it I wonder if I did not want to read because I knew I had to.

After high school I attended Mayland Community College and earned a two-year degree that I transferred to Lees-McRae College. Most students enjoy college, but not me. It was more like a job to me that I hated but knew I had to finish before I could reach my goal of becoming a teacher. I knew at a very young age that the only career in life for me was to teach. Even now I sometimes struggle with finding time to read but I love the quality time I share with my students when I read to them. This past summer I found extra time in my life to begin to read books about topics that I am interested in.

I am not a confident writer but I have a story that is inside of me that one day I would love to publish however I have not found the time to explore that area of my life yet. My goal as a teacher is foster a love for reading in my students. I want that love to come from a desire to read and not because they have to. I only hope that I will inspire children and leave a lasting impression on their lives to become whatever their heart desires.