Teachers are crucial to the success of our society; without them, there would be nobody to educate the future. Education is the foundation of a functional world, and thus, so are educators. It’s an honorable profession that often does not get the respect it deserves.

As those of you in teacher prep know, whether it’s primary, middle, or secondary, there will be people that question your career choices. Some will say, “but students are so disrespectful.” We know there will be bad apples, but we won’t let it spoil the bunch.

Others will say, “you’re never going to make enough money.” We know that our salaries will never allow us to be rich, but the lives of the students that we will impact will be worth it. Although it’s easy to say “I know, but…” it still can be difficult to not let these comments get to you. I’m here to remind you to not listen to those comments. If you want to teach, then be a teacher.

I’ve wanted to be a teacher my entire life. When I was growing up, I adored school and my teachers always told me that I was going to grow up to be a teacher. When I started my freshman year of undergrad, I realized that I wanted to teach high school instead of elementary school; which was the first change.

Then, I let the comments get to me, and I attempted to go into speech therapy. After fighting for a “B” in Bio lab, I soon realized that science is not my forte. I knew deep in my heart that teaching was what I needed to be doing, so I changed my major to Spanish Education and the rest was history. I'm proud of this choice, and I will always be proud.

Directly after my mom passed away during my senior year of high school, I have a vivid memory of sitting on my front porch with the hospice chaplain. With tears swamping my face, and an indescribable pain in my chest, I looked to the chaplain and said, “how do you deal with this every day? What made you want to do this?”

I’ve grown a lot since then, and I don’t know if I would necessarily say that now. She forgave my ignorance, especially considering my state at the time. She responded with, “It’s a calling.”

Teaching is not easy, that’s something that all teachers can agree on, but the struggles are worth the outcome. If you are called to teach, do not let anyone discourage you from teaching. Ignore the comments, because there are pros and cons to every profession. No career is stress-free, and teaching is too important to ignore your calling.

Listen to your heart, and proudly educate the future.