My dream will be a thank you to teachers

I have a dream ...

A wise woman once said, “You have to do the best with what God gave you.”

After hearing this quote, it made my dream of being a teacher my whole life.

I thought it was cool the way teachers helped students who had special disabilities; I always wanted to be the person children could look up to and trust. Most people are aware that everybody is different and unique.

What a lot of people do not know is that even people who have special disabilities can have unique talents just like everyone else. My dream is to change peoples’ lives, and I want to make more people aware that no one is better than anyone else.

In the fall, I will be attending Kent University in Salem; I plan to major in speech pathology and audiology. Pursuing this career path will let me help children with learning disabilities.

My mother experienced hearing problems as a young child. This had a major impact on pronunciation of different consonants in her speech. Growing up, she always told me how difficult school was for her. She and I are alike; school was always difficult for me, too.

My middle school years were the hardest years of my education. I had to go to specialized tutor programs that were during and after school. I was so humiliated to be in the “special” classes, because I learned slower than the other students in my grade.

In seventh grade, I met with the school psychologist. She tested me over several weeks and found that I had a specific learning disability. I was so aembarrassed.

I felt like everyone knew that I was in certain classes. All through school, I was afraid to ask for help from my teachers because I thought that they would treat me differently and not accept me as part of the class.

When I entered ninth grade, I realized it is OK that I have unique challenges. A lot of kids in my grade were in the below-average classes. I knew that I was not the only one who had a disability. Knowing that I was not alone, I gained more confidence and have set my goals higher than they once were.

The fact that I learn differently does not affect who I am inside.

Like I mentioned earlier, my dream in life is to become a teacher and help children overcome their confidence challenges.

I also want to teach my students not to be ashamed of who they are, because they are unique.

Society needs to realize that people with special disabilities or handicaps need to be treated as equals and not looked down upon. If I am successful with just one child, I have made a difference in the world.

The second part of my dream is to bring out the best in all of my students. I want to help them realize that everyone learns at a different pace, and that good work ethic is so important. Reaching my dream will be a thank-you to all of my teachers who have helped me.