When I was in elementary school I wanted to be a Veterinarian. But then I developed a phobia of birds (hint: title) and quickly realized that I couldn't be a morally just Veterinarian if I didn't love all animals.

So I changed my future career path to fashion design because I was slightly obsessed with shows like America's Next Top Model and Project Runway. I flipped through every conceivable magazine ripping out patterns and styles I liked. I would meticulously cut out the pictures of just the clothes (forget the models) and categorize them in notebooks with phrases like great hem. amazing print. texture. I even went through this phase where I started mod podge-ing everything in color coated patterns of magazine clippings...my dresser drawers, every picture frame I owned, a rocking chair (still visible today). As a teenager I knew I had found my niche. But then I got to high school and I realized I cared more about what was comfortable than what was fashionable...and really didn't want to spend my money on clothes anyway so I let my dreams of being a fashion designer fizzle out into more practical creative outlets like doodling, crafts, and photography.

Then came college (wow didn't realize I was writing my life journey here) where I studied Communications because my sister did and we are similar...and lo and behold a few classes into it I was hooked. I thrived in the chatter, papers, group projects (I have a super weird affinity for group projects), reading, and discussion groups. I thought I'd work at a cool company in the marketing or photography department, or maybe a non-profit.

But then I graduated and never got a job. ha ha. I can laugh about this now because I now have a job. But at the time of not having a job things were getting pretty weird and I saw my future becoming a big mess of me being broke and wandering the streets looking for people to be friends with.

But this story has a happy ending because now I'm a teacher. A what?? A teacher. Yes. Little ol Elementary school Veterinarian me....turned teenage fashion dreamer...turned unemployed communications major...turned T E A C H E R. wowza. And here is the bottom line and moral of this story and purpose of this long blog post...

I. Love. Teaching.

I never saw teaching on the map. NEVER. It never crossed my mind. Why? Maybe God was keeping it a secret, waiting to show me when I could fully appreciate it. Or maybe it was there all along and I just didn't see it behind the fashion clippings and piles of stuffed animals. But I'm here now and you know what, it is the perfect fit.

I get to talk to people everyday. And by people I mean the awesome teachers and students I get to work with. I get to have full freedom to be curious about everything and anything (Yesterday I went over English tongue twisters for a lesson, read Freakanomics during my lunch break, and today I looked up the definition for the word nimble). I get to cheer on students when they're prepping for a big test, or editing their writing assignments, or running in the school relay (wait...maybe I should have been a cheerleader?)

Never would I have guessed things could have turned out like this. Life is crazy like that, and more often than not, the biggest blessings are the ones you never saw coming.