My Path to Becoming an Educator

My life as many people’s has had good times and bad times but to live without passion is not living. I was nine when my mother passed away my father did the best he could to raise my brother and I by himself while grieving the loss of the love of his life. He got us involved in sports to keep us busy. As soon as I graduated I went off to school to play basketball and tennis. I had to come home from school after the first year and that is when I met my ex-husband. We were married within seven months and had our first child fifteen days after our first year anniversary. Eight years later I am divorced and a single mother of four children. I am going back to school to help support my children and my dreams.

I graduated in 2007 my path to becomming a teacherand was so excited to go off to school to play basketball and tennis at Earlham College. As an athlete I was to attend Athletes Training Academics which was training for our sport but also a couple courses to get us prepared for our classes. It also helped us to realize how to manage our time and studies. We had to go to conditioning practices in the early morning leave and hurry to my classes and then grab lunch and then back to a class. Next back to another practice and then dinner and the rest of the evening we were free to do homework or whatever we wanted to do. This was a wonderful program and social time to meet and make friends in preparation for when classes started.

Once classes started and two basketball practices a day started college life began. I did fine managing my time but I had physical ailments that did not let me continue on in my basketball season. I came home for the summer and decided that if I was not going to play basketball there was no reason to go three hours away from my family. It was a hard decision but my passion and dream of playing basketball was over so I knew if I stayed home I could work on the other dreams in my life of becoming a teacher and having a family.