People On My Road

I would love to be able to say that I always wanted to be a teacher. When I first got to college... I honestly thought I would be an accountant like my dad. I looked up to him a lot.. and saw how well he did in his job.. so I thought.. what the hell.. :) Well, that didn't happen. After realizing that I didn't really know what I wanted.. I went through a period of self discovery. I went from thinking about going into Interior Design.. to Hairdressing.. During this period I also changed school's and moved back home. I have learned by now that life is not what we expect or want it to be all of the time.. and this period of time was definitely hard for me. Family support was crucial.. :) It wasn't until I was at Dixie State College.. that I landed a job as a teacher's aide at Pine View High School in St. George. It was here that I developed a relationship with a severe special ed. student. She was in a wheel chair, couldn't talk, could only move her arm. Even though she had these limitations, she was extremely aware and bright. I spent a whole year... every day for three hours with her. I learned a lot about myself and her... without communicating at all !! My last day as I was leaving... I said goodbye to her with a tear in my eye.. as usual she stared back at me blankly. I hugged her and started to walk away... and she grabbed my arm in a vice grip. As I turned around.. she smiled at me.. and really looked at me for the first time. I will never forget that moment.. or her.. or how I felt right then. Everything I had done for her led to that moment of fulfillment. It was then, that I realized I wanted to be a teacher. She was the beginning of my road to teaching. As I went to school to be a teacher.. I thought fondly of past teachers... my favorite teacher ever was Mr. Dillon. Not because he taught me a lot, or because he was handsome, etc... It was because I knew that he loved me and cared about me... So as I learned to be a teacher I remembered how my special ed. friend made me feel, and how Mr. Dillon had loved me. These two people have molded me to who I am today as a teacher. I have been thinking about all of this because an old friend posted some pics of me and Mr. Dillon on Facebook. I cherish these pics... and cherish those people that I meet on my road in life... You never know who you impact or change... on this road called life !! It is my hope that I can return the favor to my students... and be an influence for good on their roads...