Why?

College. Four and a half years of my life (up to this point). Hundreds of credit hours. A variety of classes. Thousands of assignments. A burden of dollars. Lots of tears (out of every emotion: sadness, anger, joy ect.).

Have I ever wondered why? Absolutely! Have I ever questioned why I return ever semester? Of Course? But, yet, I still do. I still work hard in my classes to earn respectable grades. I still sacrifice time with friends and family so that I can finish up a big project. I still stay up later than I care to admit, loosing precious hours of sleep. I still push through, even when my "to-do" list is never-ending and I am fried in every dimension (mentally, physically, emotionally). I still work exhausting hours so that I can fund my education. Have I wanted to quite? Throw in the towel? Give up? You bet...but I don't. I can't. I need to be a teacher. 

be fearless in the pursuit that sets your soul on fire

Let's take a moment to remind back to when I was a little girl growing up. Being the youngest of four big brothers (yes, I am the only girl), I grew up playing up playing "war," digging trenches, building rafts, and participating in backyard football and ice hockey. Barbies were replaced with G.I. Joes. Disney movie were exchanged for Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. 

I didn't however, let them stop me from creating my own classroom. At the time, I was in second grade and my mom was teaching students math at our house. I would go to school, come home, watch my mom teach and then retreat to my play room with a podium and stuffed animals to teach my own lesson. No brothers. No friends. Just me, my whiteboard and markers, and my "students." I may not have 

fully understood at that young age, but this was the spark that ignited a passion that has me where I am today. 

Fast forward a couple years, several grade levels and we have sixth grade Abby and the amazing (I didn't realize it) subject of math. My education was in a little different situation...something called homeschool, normally not a problem, except I was a horrible (and I mean horrible with a capital "H") students. Don't believe me? Well, what if I told you I didn't do my math homework for a solid month. Yup! My mom taught me a lesson every day, assigned homework, but I didn't do it. Well, you know as good as the next reader that math builds on itself. I will never forget the day when my mom went to teach me a new lesson. For some reason (maybe because I haven't done my math homework) I was just not understanding the concept. In response, my mom asked me to grab my homework notebook. You can imagine my shame as she flipped through the empty pages of homework. I got it such big trouble and as a consequence, had to complete every skipped assignment. As I worked day after day to get caught up, I found myself actually enjoying the math problems. Yes, I was having fun...the content made sense so there was satisfaction in completing my homework (imagine that). This was when I caught hold of another passion. One that resulted in me bringing my math 

homework with me on our family vacation to Europe during Spring Break. Yes, what a nerd and when I went back to "real" school (8th grade), I didn't understand why my classmates didn't have the same commitment to this amazing subject. That is when I discovered a problem that demanded a solution. ​

Who would have thought that my desire to teach and my passion for math would erupt as I continued my years of education, in high school leading in to college. 

Which brings me back to where I am today...a "Super" senior by status but none-the-less pursuing my great passion. As this semester has progressed, the "why" has only grown as I have experienced real world classroom life in my Teacher Assisting placement. There is nothing that warms my heart more than teaching these second grade students, especially when they have that all-too-familiar lightbulb moment in math when they understand, the isle when they see math really isn't such a horrific subject. 

This is why I keep coming back.
This is why I push through. 
This is why I am fearless...
                                         because my heart is set on fire when I am in a classroom teacher math.