My Dreams

Some teachers say that they have had the dream of being a teacher their entire life. I on the other hand would not strive for this dream until my second semester of college at the College of Southern Nevada, and I often ponder how different my life would have been if I would have had a teaching end goal from the beginning.

As a child, Jeannette’s sense of wonder and curiosity in the world undermine the need for money. During her young adult years, a new wave of insecurity associated with her poor past infects her. Finally, as an experienced and aged woman, Jeannette finds joy and nostalgia in cherishing her poverty- stricken past. It must be noted that no story goes without a couple twists and turns, especiallydefinitely not Jeannette Walls’. The fact of the matter is that growing up in poverty effectively craftsed, and transformsed her into the person she becomeshas become. While statistics and research show that living in poverty can be detrimental to a child’s self-esteem, Jeannette Walls encourages children living in poverty to have ownership over their temporary situation, and never to feel inferior because of past or present socio-economic

As I grew older, it was impossible to notice that my world was imperfect. In elementary school, all my parent’s problems here hidden; I didn’t understand my family’s economic status. As I grew older and began to ask my parents question about our lifestyle and compared it to the other people around us. This conversation would always end in the same place; because we can't afford it. My high school is composed of economically unstable families, and economically stable families. Seeing that other families were better off than mine, I grew up with the idea that a comfortable life, is a luxurious life. I know that others around

Since I remember, I always wanted to be a teacher. For instance, my dream came true at the very young age of 19 years old. In my country, Guatemala, I got my Vocational Teaching Credential. Unfortunately, my long-awaited dream ended too soon. Six years later, my life completely changed when I moved to the United States.

I’ve always known that I was meant to become a teacher. In the fifth grade yearbook, each child claimed what they wanted to be, although most of these will change with time. Every little girl guessed that they would be a professional dancer, a princess, and other mystical job titles. The space beneath my smiling face read “kindergarten teacher”.

Introduction There’s nothing that could describe the struggles of being a poor kid. In the documentary of Poor Kids, posted by PBS, there you can clearly see how bad poverty has grown in the US. It’s sad watching these kids talk about how they struggle to get pass a week after another. Seeing how are these parents work but yet can’t find the money to support the kids.

Growing up in one of the most neglected zip codes of Miami, I have faced challenging obstacles all my life. These challenges were not only limited to financial worries, they included peer issues as well as moral ones. Growing up in a neighborhood where police lights and drug dealing were the norm taught me valuable life lessons that most people could never understand. I believe this upbringing has molded me into the person I am today, a person who sees hardships as a way to grow and excel, a person who sees life through a producer mindset, rather than a consumer one.

I always thought I would be a teacher and I would make differences in lives and it would be the greatest experience in the world for me, yet being a teacher wasn’t enough, I had a need to expand my education. I decided that perhaps I needed a new career, however, I felt certain education remained my passion. I began to explore new areas of education and I realized I still want to be a member of a classroom, a school and curriculum. I aspire to guide those leading our classrooms.

I grew up in Brownsville, one of the poorest cities in the Southern region of Texas. My parents didn’t get to go to college so they didn't earn much. Both my parents work for the school district I got to school in, my mother works as a lunch lady and my father works in the maintenance department changing air conditioning filters. Growing up there wasn’t enough money to buy extravagant items, but we always had what we needed. My family may not have all the riches in the world, but we do have each other. Sometimes my family may not handle things well, we may not be the picture of health, and we don’t have all the money in the world but we always have love. We always support each other and are always there no matter what.

However, it was disheartening to hear that sometimes when she walks at work, she encounters people who insult her by calling her “ trashy”. This opened my eyes to how some people view others of the lower and poor class and that people often judge those who are marginalized, even without listening to their story of hard work. I was also angry at the system when I heard Tammy mention how she works long hours at Burger King, yet her employers cannot give her a raise like they give other employees. Tammy’s story also taught me that being poor can make people feel shame and embarrassed at their living situation, this is evidence when Tammy’s son explain how he is embarrassed living in the trailer, how he sometimes denies his relationship with his brother and the embarrassment he feels toward his mother because of the burger clothes she wears. I was inspired by Tammy’s story because it showed me that even poor people work hard and through this hard work, they get ahead in their lives. Instead of staying in the same situation, Tammy has managed to move forward and has bought a new house. Instead of walking ten and a half miles to work, she now walks twenty minutes and still has dreams of being a teacher.

Being an only child from a middle class family, I grew up a very sheltered life. My biggest worry under the age of 12 consisted of getting my homework done in time to play outside before the street lights came on. My favorite childhood memories all revolve around my grandparent’s beach house where I would spend my summer’s with my family and friends. I was naïve to the fact that every other child in the world didn’t think of their family and friends as their biggest support system. I was naïve to the fact that every other child in the world didn’t experience the sense of happiness in life as I did.

The big question teachers ask me throughout my life is “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I never had an answer to that. Going into college I didn’t have a set plan as to what career I would like to pursue. However, I knew that I wanted to work with kids; I originally wanted to be a pediatrician. That career choice was based on my family wanting me to be successful, so I put my passion for working with kids and their passion together. As I began to focus on what I want instead of what others want, I changed my major to Early Childhood Education and chose the path of teaching as my career choice. I have high hopes for this career because teachers are always needed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS), the employment rate for my career choice will increase by six percent from 2014 to 2024. In this world, education is valued and will help put people many steps ahead. The reason why I chose to be an elementary teacher is because I want to be able to motivate and inspire my younger generations.

After the long tiring day of work I thought I should take a nap. So I took a shower and went into my room for the nap. When I got into the bed I layed down and closed my eyes. As I started to fall asleep I hoped to have a amazing dreams . I fell into a deep slumber as the dream began to form.

I woke up this morning to the usual sounds of the blue birds chirping. The ray of the warm sun shining through the window onto my face. And the same old view of the cloudy,rainy, gray New York City. I walked out of my bedroom and went to say my morning goodbyes to my husband Michael downstairs by the door before he leaves for work. “Kimberly don’t forget to wake up Poppy ’’he said. “I promise I will. Love you’’ I said. He shuts the door furiously as he leaves. We have a 4 year-old daughter named Poppy(like the flower). I gave birth to her just after my mother died and my mother's favorite flower was a poppy. Since Poppy has never met her grandma we decided that her nickname would be Poppy so she will always have a piece of her grandma in her. She is very hyper and probably one of the most kind hearted souls you’ll ever meet. For being a stay at home mom, I do take joy in cleaning the apartment and taking care of Poppy but something has always been missing from my life considering the fact that I have no job at the moment. I've always wanted to pursue my dreams of being an author and publishing books. My husband thinks its a pathetic dream. He has never really been fond of what other people think except for what he thinks. Michael and I fight all of the time about financial issues and taxes and how we don’t have enough money to pay for our apartment. All of the money depends on Michael's job which he tells me is a pain in the

As I take a look back on my life, I realize how great it has truly been. I had an absolutely amazing childhood and I am beyond blessed for it. I grew up in a home with two loving parents that have been with me through it all and now of days that is something to be truly thankful for. My parents taught me to strive to be anything that I wanted and that I could be anything that I set my mind to. These dreams changed throughout my life as I grew older and as I grew into the person that I am today.