6

this is major.

because it is my major.

elementary ed.

story time.

{this will be longer than usual, but a good read.

that is, if you care it will be a good read.}

a long, long time ago, when i was younger, i wanted to be a teacher. my sisters and i would play school in our playhouse {built by paparupa, miss it--bear wood forest lives on in my memory}.

then my freshman, sophomore and junior years of high school, i discovered my love for decorating. my artsy/designer cousin {living in the big apple. click here to see his awesome work.} subscribed me to dwell magazine. loved it. through it, i bought like 10 interior design / decorating books super cheap.

then my senior year i decided that it probably isn't the best career choice for me. i loved to exercise and also started becoming really nutrition conscious and caring what i put in my body. so i decided i wanted to enter the health field via nutrition. i started my first year of college a little wary on the topic. chemistry made me so nervous.

i heard a talk President Hinckley gave about doing anything you set your mind to and working hard to do it. don't take the easy way out or get lazy because you think something might be too hard.

that's when i decided: i can do it. i can conquer chemistry. so i enrolled in a chemistry class. it was difficult. i don't think i could have done it without my amazing professor. she wasn't the sweetest lady. she didn't cut a whole lot of slack. i worked my butt off in that class. it's pretty much all i did. {and confession: i kinda feel in love. with chemistry that is.}

and then i came to byu. a little more intense. in order for me to apply to the dietetics program {yes, i learned that i would need to be a dietitian, thus, my field of study would be dietetics} in winter 09, i would have to take microbiology, anatomy, and bio-organic chemistry. and a couple other classes. so i freaked out. but i did it. and i studied. and studied. and it was hard. and i did not enjoy micro at all. and chem was fun because my teacher was a hoot. and heather and i had class every day together. and it was so difficult for me. but we studied together. and i can't even count how many hours i studied for that final. which i rocked, well, i rocked the metabolism half {because that's what i wanted to know} and did pretty good on the comprehensive part. and i fell in love with anatomy. {which i still love it so so so much. and i love the chemistry.}

but the Lord had other plans for me.

i walked out of my last class the second day of winter semester and called my mom.

"i'm changing my major"

"what!? couldn't you have decided this a week ago?"

i walked home {in the 15 degree snow} and cried the entire way as i talked it out with my mom. i dropped all my classes. i added new ones. and through a series of tender mercies from the Lord, everything fell into place. within my new major and other aspects of my life at the time. i was so blessed. in so many ways. and the Lord sent many angels to help me and guide me.

the reasons i changed? and to spare the you the reading and words, i'm not really going to say. it's not really necessary. but for some reason unbeknownst to me, i am not supposed to do dietetics at this time in my life, if ever. i still love nutrition. i love it. and i would love to do it. {and people make fun of me for what i eat, which sometimes gets annoying. and i say: a) i like this food. b) i'm on a college health-food budget...not easy. c) i feel good, no. fabulous d) i feel not good, like sick, when i don't eat what i eat (i.e. holidays and family gatherings when i slip in some other things). and e) who cares what i eat.} for now, i have learned enough from my nutrition classes and chemistry and anatomy and micro and personal reading and researching that i am satisfied. i still read stuff from dr. mercola, etc. all of the time. and my mom reads more and tells me the things and articles i should read.

that said: i am so excited to be a teacher. to have a class of my own. i hope and pray that i am one who inspires her students, makes them feel comfortable and safe at school. encourages and teaches that they can do anything or be anything they set their mind to. and they can be successful and achieve great things. i don't know what is going on in their lives and whose life i can and need to touch. and i pray that i can be the kind of educator that when students look back on their elementary years, they think of me as one who taught them and touched their lives in a positive way.

again, sorry this is so long. it was kinda a life changing event. it was a life changing event.