From a very young age, working with kids was what I wanted to do. I wanted nothing more than to become a teacher and make a change in the world.

Kids are these resilient, amazing people, who absorb so much every single day. It is incredible to think how much they are learning each and every second. Working with them has made me the strong-hearted person I am today.

Kids have taught me resilience. They have shown me the true meaning of falling and getting right back up again.

The saying “bouncing back” was coined by these remarkable, one-of-a-kind kids. No matter what the world seems to throw their way, they are strong in the face of anything.

Sometimes, as adults, we forget to recognize just how quickly they get back on their feet.

Kids have taught me what it means to be caring. To think, all those feelings bottled up in such a little person, and yet they handle it better than we do some days.

Those days are the ones where a child comes up to you and just gives you a hug, or tells you that you’re beautiful and that they love you. Not knowing the stress you're under, but understanding that it must be something sad.

Kids taught me what it means to be a friend. Every day, having a new best friend can seem exhausting. For them, they are sharing the gift of friendship with their whole class.

They showed me that nothing that matters to us, matters to them. They are all friends; all different, but still friends, nonetheless.

There are no boundaries or second-guessing; just a person by your side.

Kids taught me what unconditional love was. While working in a classroom, I felt what this unconditional love and respect was like.

The big smiles when you walk into the room, knowing you made their day just by showing up to work. The hugs, laughter, and feeling of total support.

Being a teacher in that classroom was the light of my life. It secured me in the fact that working with kids was what I was meant to do.

Kids taught me how to let go and have fun. With the long hours of working and being a student, sometimes you forget to sit and have an imaginary tea party with your friends.

The importance of imagination and fun sometimes is lost in the hectic worlds we live in. They showed me that running around on a playground and letting go of some steam is okay.

It might seem childish and maybe a bit juvenile, but with the stressful world we live in, it’s often hard to remember what tea parties felt like.

Working with kids has shaped and changed the person that I am. It has given me insights that some don’t have access to. It has made me into the teacher I’ll become.