They call me Shasta....Teacher Shasta.

Who was your second grade teacher? How about your best friend in fourth grade? Dig deep tell me who you took a nap next to in kindergarten. Facts that probably fly under the radar during any normal day, but are easily recalled when asked. It says a lot about your childhood that you’re stored that info long term style.
Your childhood is important. Whether or not yours turned out to be the "happiest times of your life" or "what you spend your whole life trying to overcome", depends entirely on the people you encounter on that winding, often bumpy, road to adulthood. Quotes stolen straight from one of my all-time favorite chick flicks, Hope Floats. Like Birdee, and a few others of you out there, I grew up in a teeny, tiny town that I couldn’t wait to escape. Successfully flying the coop grants me the opportunity to view those years through rose colored glasses and some of my fondest memories and most significant experiences came in the form of my teachers.
I am, without a doubt, the product of those educators placed in my path. I can name a handful of women who made me the way I am....good, bad, and ugly. Over half of those were teachers. You spend about a third of your childhood with your teachers. They’re your mother, father, protector, confidant, and entertainment for 8 hours a day, five days a week from 5-18. That’s a pretty significant chunk of time. They guide you through your socialization into the world at large. Mine let me know, in no uncertain terms, that my world wasn’t defined by Bowie County lines. That’s a pretty respectable feat considering I’m writing these words in the middle of a small town in South Korea.
I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the way someone let me know that education would open up doors for me that nothing else would. I’d put money on that person being a teacher. My family isn’t wealthy. Far from it. Both of my parents worked at least one job the entire time I was growing up. They work very hard for the things they have and what they gave me and my siblings. Despite my obvious lack of a silver spoon, my education has allowed me to almost circumnavigate the globe.
My trip down memory lane is simply to illustrate that your childhood and your teachers make a big league impact on who and what you become....And I get to do that. Every. Single. Day. I have the opportunity to continue to do so for the rest of my life. My kids are learning English and I hope somewhere in those lessons I’m hoping they figure out that I care about them. I’m spending a year away from everything I love to fall in love with 200 new things. When they grow up and think back on English in Elementary school, hopefully, they’re going to think of me. I’m earning a place in the childhood of 200 lives. How cool is that?

P.S. Even if the very thought of teaching as a profession makes you want to run for the hills, you’ll probably appreciate this.