Never in my WILDEST DREAMS did I expect this to be me....

So I fell into teaching. I didn't want to be a teacher, I just didn't know what I wanted to do, and I had a volunteer job as a tutor for ESL students in college. One of my students was struggling with other subjects, and asked me to help. Then it was two subjects, then the entire grade. I decided to go for my teaching degree because it was "stable", and I could pay my bills. I never wanted to be in education. I fell into it. <br><br>I love my job more than anything. I worked my way up to school counselor, and now I'm beginning to work on my specialist degree, to become an elementary vice principal. I love interacting with the parents, I love helping kids go from being the underdog to thriving, I love being able to set the culture of my school and my classroom. I have always, secretly, wanted to be a principal... and I have always thought it was a pipe dream. <br><br>I don't know who knows this about me, but I come from aⅣery crappy background. I'm a foster child, I was chronically truant, fell into gangs, struggled with substance abuse, and have a criminal record. I don't tell people this because I don't want to be judged, but I'm beginning to realize if I don't try to tell my story, who will? <br><br>I never thought I would be "good enough" for admin. I don't fit the mold, and I was told all my life I would end up dead or in jail. I've worked my ass off, and I wouldn't change one minute of it. But I always felt if I had aⅼittle voice inside me who said "you aren't good enough", I wasn't alone. There were others, and I need to tell them I believe in them. <br><br>I fell into teaching, and I fell into a passion. Don't give up. Don't let people tell you you aren't good enough. Don't give up on yourself or your children. You aren't alone. <br><br>I love you all. Thank you for being my teachers, who showed me how to be kind and compassionate, who showed me how to be a better human being. Thank you for being the safe space I never had at home. Thank you for being my second family. <br><br>I will always remember that while the new generation is crying about us old millennials, we are the reason why the kids are protected by Title IX, and we are the reason why the internet is so damn protected. We are the ones who fought for equal pay, for women's rights, and no matter how "outdated" we are, we did it. <br><br>Thank you, teachers. Thank you, principals. Thank you, admin. Thank you, bus drivers. Thank you, teachers. And to my students, I love you... and you are loved, even if it doesn't feel that way.