I love my major. I love working with kids. I love being able to teach the future of America. Not many people can say their career allows them to like a kid for the rest of their life. But no other job or path of life has the stigma that comes along with being an education major.

Whenever I tell someone I'm an education major I often get looks, and people tell me "oh, wow, you must have so much patience," or "wow, you must really love kids." The most common question, and one that should be obvious, is "so, you're going to be a teacher?" While I do have a lot of patience, and the kids I work with are some of the best people I know, I don't have the patience to be constantly . However the second I feel judgement about my career, I start to second guess the way I think about myself, my intelligence, and the path my life is going on.

College is supposed to be a place where you gain confidence in yourself and in your career path. It's supposed to be an accepting place where no matter who you are and what your interests are, you are welcomed.

Someone recently told me that they truly believe every major at this school is difficult, and this was coming from someone who is an engineering major. And while I appreciated this, I almost asked them if they thought education was an easy major. I questioned my own intelligence because of the "easy" connotation that comes with learning how to be a teacher.

The math class I took last year was elementary school math. Essentially I re-learned how to multiply and divide through various methods kids might learn, diagrams, and writing everything out step by step; if I had a dollar for someone saying "oh, isn't that an easy math?" I would probably have more money than I'll ever make being a teacher. I even went through problems and guessed the mistakes kids would make so that I could correct them. The answer I would give was that yes, it is an easier class, but I'm learning how to teach this to children who haven't reached the age of ten. It's difficult to retain children's attention for five minutes, let alone teach them how to do long division, which is something many adults still do not know how to do.

Now, I'm not trying to put down any other majors or careers, but I want everyone to understand why being a teacher isn't all fun and games (even though many times it is).

I want to be a teacher because I truly believe that education is the solution to many social issues around the world. I want to be a teacher because I want to help children discover the world around them in their own individual way. I want to be a teacher because I want to create a safe and comforting environment for children throughout their education. I want to be a teacher because I want to educate the future.

By the way, yes, I am fully aware of my future salary. I'm not in it for the money. I'm in it for the kids, and for the people I know who's lives I can change. Most of my future students have not been born yet, but I know if I can help just one child find their way, it is worth it.

For those of you out there who are reading this thinking, huh, I never thought of any of that, I'm glad I could help you understand why each major is difficult in it's own way. And for those who still think I'm on an "easy" career path, check yourself, because there is no career that is easy all the time; your rough days could be that you spent all day in a lab and discovered nothing new or that you're working on a tough case, and mine could be guiding a child through a tough situation at home. Each job comes with it's own individual challenges, and I could not be more excited to see what challenges are in store.