Pretty much from when I was a kid, my mom told me I'm a kid-magnet. Little kids always found their way into my lap, and rather than pushing them away, I embraced them. Even so, I didn't want to be a teacher.

First, I wanted to be the president, and the next day, I wanted to be a pop star. Then I spent about ten years dreaming that I would be a veterinarian (after all, my magnetism applied to animals, too). When I started to focus more on biology, I changed my mind to researcher, then geneticist, and then, finally, I realized that science just wasn't the field for me.

When I started studying Japanese in college, everything seemed to fall into place. I took a couple of education classes for credit and realized I loved learning how to teach. I still remember when I was told that the level of Japanese I'd reach in my undergrad classes wouldn't be enough to get certified to teach it, and when I decided to continue my education until I could get that certification. Even then, I still hesitated--I wanted to teach university, where I'd be able to teach young adults who also had a passion for languages. I definitely didn't want to teach kids!

And yet, here I am. Almost a year after graduating from college with barely eight months of teaching experience, working with primarily elementary and junior high school students. I'm loving it! My kids are wonderful, my co-workers are kind and helpful, and the small town that I work in has been so welcoming to me.

So now we come to you, future teacher. Even if you've only just started on your certification journey, you have probably already encountered a few challenges. These are the things that make you question your choice, the ones that keep you up at night with thoughts of lesson plans and future parent-teacher conferences. It may be when the teacher you're observing reminds you that teaching is mostly about trying to fit into the system. It may be the first time you stand at the front of a classroom alone, with twenty-plus sets of eyes on you. It may be when you have to talk to that one student--you know the one!--that no matter how hard you try, you can't get them to do their work.

Breathe.

I won't lie, teaching is difficult. Sometimes you'll go home and wonder why you chose to do what you do. But the challenges are far outweighed by the rewards.

For me, it was when one of my most distracted students approached me after class and said "English class was really fun today!" I walked on air for the rest of the week, his words bouncing around my mind.

You're going to grow to love your kids. It doesn't matter how old they are, or how often you see them, they're going to be your kids. You'll cry with them, and you'll be one of the proudest people in the room when they graduate. You'll see yourself in each of them, and as the year progresses, you'll see how they grow and change.

I can't wait to see where you end up, and where your kids end up. Get ready for the ride, future teacher, because it's going to be a good one.