On Becoming a Teacher

This is when my journey begun.

It all started with just one ambition, way back year 1994 at the Monkayo Gymnasium, where hundreds of Kindergarten graduates professed their dreams in life and I am one of these young ones, who marched my way proudly because I have finished one-step towards my educational success.

I cannot forget the words I uttered, “When I grow up, I want to be a teacher”.

Both of my parents are teachers by profession. Three-fourth the number of my aunts and uncles on the father’s side, and maybe one-fourth from my mother’s side are all teachers, enough to say that it is in our blood.

I love teaching, I love children, and I have the passion to learn and share my knowledge.

Years passed and here come the inevitable changes. I was overwhelmed when even my older cousins chose to become teachers. I decided that I would select a degree that would somehow lead me to another career path and so I enrolled in a BS in Biology.

But I was not able to land a job in line with my earned degree , instead, I became an outsourcing worker, rendering my services to the foreigners. At first, I was satisfied with everything, a non-stressful job with good pay and benefits; it was indeed a comfort zone. It took me almost four long years to realize that my job is getting me nowhere.

I got bored and pushed myself to think of better ways to save my future. I realized that I needed to get out from my comfort zone and do meaningful changes in my career path. And so, I asked myself who would I be and where would I be five years from now? I just found myself saying, “I want to go home”.

With that simple statement, it guided me on what I really want and need to do in life. I need to find a job that could make me stay in my hometown Monkayo. A job that is stable and something that I would really love to do. “I need to go back from where I started.”

I may have taken many detours along the way, which led me to crooked roads. However, I believe it is not yet too late for me to get back on the right track.

This is the reason why I want to finish the TCPNEP Program to gain enough knowledge and experiences that would help me in becoming a good teacher. In order for me to realize my dreams in life that was long foretold, I need to pass the Licensure Examination for Teachers.

One thing I have learned with this decision I made is that life has its own way of leading you to your destiny. I have no regrets even if I was not able to decide earlier that I want to become a teacher, what matters most to me now is that I am already sure that this is what I want in life.

Now I have the reasons to strive harder to make this dream come true, I know trials would surely come my way, but as long as I would keep on holding on to this dream, it would become a reality someday, in God’s time.

This was written on October 15, 2013, and now I a Master’s Degree holder of Master of Arts in Education, Major in Teaching Science and currently earning my Ph.D. degree in Development Research Administration.

How about you, what’s your story?