Working with children softens your heart in the way you never wanted. It makes you more vulnerable to love. Any wall you may have tried to build is constantly being chipped at, and it will eventually be conquered.

You become more compassionate and thoughtful. You will find yourself thinking more in depth before coming to a conclusion, rather than just jumping in like you used to. You will wonder what's going through their minds, why they would say this or that. You will think about every outcome and every reason before your mind is made up.

Laughter becomes more frequent. You will smile often in simple moments, knowing that they are the ones you'll always want to remember. You smile more because you’ve regained joy in every day things. You'll smile because you’re happy to see their sweet faces, because they indirectly compliment your features and express concern in your wellbeing.

Kids ask questions that make so much sense. They like to dig deeper. Sometimes you know exactly what to say and sometimes you spend several minutes thinking of how to reply in a way they would fully understand. You do this because you feel that they deserve truth and intelligent conversations, even at such a young age. Because you want them to know that their questions matter, that they are heard. You try your best to peak their curiosity because you want them to enjoy learning, to pursue it and value it.

You will find that you’re able to enjoy yourself more in everything. The imagination that you once had as a child will come back in waves. Your interactions with them will bring about new perspectives. Where you once saw a pile of blocks, you now recognize an airplane’s landing strip. Where others may see a mess of paint on paper, you'll know that its an abstract piece created with a lot of hard work.

Eventually, your steps become quieter. You’ve practiced this many times trying not to wake a sleeping kiddo. You’ll speak with more confidence, but your tone will be softer, more soothing. You’ll find yourself brushing back strands of hair, checking for untied shoes, making sure they’ve eaten a sustainable amount and asking about their day. You'll think of them when they're not around. You'll grow to miss their presence that so often invades your personal space, their yelling in excitement, and temper tantrums when something doesn’t happen fast enough.

You may lose sleep, have your patience worn and your mind in disorder at times, but you gain so much more. In love, in compassion, in learning their simpler, more effective ways of living. Whether you’re a school teacher, early learning instructor, a nanny, or you’re lucky enough to have your very own little ones, I think it is safe to say we all experience similar changes in the way we think and do things.

Children love differently, hope more and see the world in such vivid colors. As we try our best to equip them with the tools we think they need to move forward year after year, I truly believe it is you and I who learn and change the most. We help them grow into who they will some day be, but they usher us into a more beautiful state of mind, being and knowing. The things we thought we’d lost are brought back to the surface and utilized in better ways than we could have imagined. All because of tiny hands, gentle eyes and incomparable love. I truly feel we owe our children all of the appreciation we’ve got to offer. They are the hope we’ve got for the future of the world. They embody the love we’ve so desperately longed to know. They are the catalysts for a new, more beautiful reality. May we never fail to realize their true hearts, overwhelming potential, and their great importance to life itself.