The end of college

As I finished my last college class ever and took my last steps in the building that has sheltered me through it all I felt sad that it is all over. I also feel grateful for this amazing college experience. I reflect back upon my first semester being here and remembering how ungrateful and unaware I was of the amazing experience ahead. Now I am grateful, so grateful that I was here and could be taught through the Spirit and had professors that listened to the Spirit as they taught.  Bishops who understood and loved me. Friends and fellow students who were always there for me.  I can't imagine not being here and am grateful that I stuck it out at the beginning.

I am grateful that I chose the profession of teaching. Having my own classroom seems like the scariest yet most exciting thing I have ever done in my life! I know that I can make a difference in the lives of those children and this is where I'm meant to be and what I am supposed to be doing. I have loved these children that I taught twice a week this semester and shed tears over leaving them.  One day as I was home sick the movie Freedom Writers came on.  I cried as I watched it and pictured my students in this class as these teenagers someday.  Hoping that I made enough of a difference to teach them values and that they are important people.  I struggled listening to their stories of home and seeing them unshowered with holes in their clothes.  Coming to school in 14 degree weather with no coats and shorts. Many days I wanted to bring them home and show them the love that they deserved.  I am grateful for this experience.  I am grateful that I will have the chance to be a teacher and show each and every student that they are loved by someone in this world.  I will forever think of those students and the impact they made on my life.

Experiences like this remind me why I am going to be a teacher. The hardships are worth it for the smiles on their faces when they realize that they are important. I know that these experiences are because of the college I have attended and the professors that have put me in classrooms led by the Spirit.

College is just one part of life, and I am excited to move on to the next.  The unknown can be scary but I am hopeful.  I am trusting in my Heavenly Father to lead me where I can make the most difference in the childrens lives.

I am graduating from college, the first one in my family.  I hope to set the example of the importance of college and the amazing life changing experiences that can be had for my siblings, for my future children, and for my students.