My first opportunity to come back into a school was as a permanent sub. I walked in on the first day with no idea what I would be doing or what I was doing for that matter. I was told to help out wherever I was needed as students began coming into the school. After helping direct traffic including a few teary eyed first graders, I spent the rest of the morning sorting books and unpacking boxes. It was about as unglamorous a start as most could imagine, and yet I began feeling like I was finally in the right place.
By the afternoon I was going from classroom to classroom delivering materials and asking anyone if they needed help. It would have seemed to most to be a rather dull day, but to me, it was refreshing and exciting. The school was a place where I felt like I had a purpose. Even with the most menial of tasks and without really having a chance to work with children, I still felt valuable. The bright atmosphere, excited young faces, and so much potential had captivated me instantly. Over the years I would get to know some of the less bright parts of working in schools, but despite their emergence, that first day was one that I would never forget. I knew just from being there on a day where I did so little, that working in schools was something I was meant to do.
Over the next three years I worked in many capacities while I attained my teaching certificate. I grew up as a boy at that school, and over the next three years I began to grown as an educator.
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