My hands were shaking and I literally felt like I was going to be sick. My lesson plan that I spent hours the night before going over was being crumpled from my tight grip. As my fellow classmates filed in and took their seats, I became blatantly aware of their eyes watching my every move. I stood in front of the class completely frozen, my eyes glued to the black clock that hung above my teacher’s desk. “SAY SOMETHING,” I screamed in my head. With a deep swallow, which I am pretty sure everyone heard, I said “Hi.” The class laughed and for some reason their laughter calmed me down. My breathing began to return to normal in a nonchalant voice I introduced myself as Ms. Rhines. It was in my freshman year at Clark High School Magnet Program where I had my first experience with teaching. Consequently, my experiences in the TEACH program taught me a lot about the person I am and if given a scholarship for college I plan to use the money to fulfill my dreams of being an English professor.

            The TEACH program is an institution at Clark High that gives students who are aspiring teachers a start in their careers. When I got into the program I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. When the time came for us to write up our lesson plans I had to sit down and examine myself. I had always loved to read and write so I decided to teach an English lesson. The day came when it was my turn to teach and as I mentioned before I was extremely nervous. As every minute went by, I became more comfortable. I found myself optimistic about what I was teaching. After I finished my lesson, the kids in my class congratulated me and that day changed my life. It was not the compliments of my classmates; it was the way I felt when I was doing it. I felt like a new person. I found that I loved literature and I wanted to help students love it too. I also found that I was passionate and determined and that when I set my mind to something I will never back down. I wanted to make a difference in the world as well. This was a surprising aspect I found out because before this experience I had never cared much for teaching. From that day on I felt more confident in myself and as I grew so did my love for literature.