From a very early age, I have always had the passion to learn new things about the world. In childhood, I was often found engrossed in a book or reading an article that allowed me to continue learning about the wonders of everything around me. I would often relay this back to those around me in the hope that this would spark an interest for them in the fields that I was educating myself about.
In my fourth year of school, I completed work experience as a Teaching Assistant. I was fortunate enough to be accepted for my choice and was chosen to participate in a week-long position at my former primary school, Claypotts Castle. I helped out in a Primary 2 classroom, during my time there, I quickly realised that my vision of a perfectly content class listening attentively was not a reality. Children often had problems of their own that they had to overcome in the classroom. Regardless of this reality check, I still thoroughly enjoyed my time and the involvement has always remained with me. Despite the revelation, I was not put off from the experience and it further fuelled my desire to pursue a career in teaching.
However, when the time came to leave school, I did so without much direction, despite gaining a number of qualifications. In employment, I experienced different fields of work without finding the same passion I had for the opportunity to teach. It took me several years, but one night I realised my desire to do more. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life pulling pints or typing numbers into a computer on behalf of an organisation. I wanted to do something that I was too immature to realise upon leaving the security of school. I wanted to follow my dreams.
Despite my original concerns that being an adult of 24 years of age would go against me, I was firmly accepted into Dundee & Angus college through the SWAP programme course Access to Community, Education and Humanities. This course allowed me to rediscovered my enjoyment of subjects such as History and Geography and broadening my knowledge of new subjects in the form of Psychology and Sociology. In addition to this, I also enrolled on a Mindfulness course, introducing me to new abilities to deal with both stress and patience whilst realising a fuller extent of what my body and mind are capable of. During this time, I spent one day a week, for the entirety of the academic year, helping out at Craigowl Primary School. This stint in back in school gifted me the opportunity to recognise how important the curriculum of excellence is for development as well its significance in promoting that it is okay to fail and more perspective on children finding themselves in other ways and growing in character.
My intentions were always to use college as a stepping stone to allow me entry into university. From the day I attended an open day, I was determined to get into the University of Dundee. There was always a burning desire to be accepted, only increasing in intensity after the group interview I attended in February. The near-agonising three month period of waiting for my exam results over the course of the summer was rewarded with the realisation that I had obtained the results necessary for me to receive an unconditional offer from my desired destination.
And this is where the above leads into the present day. The above is a severely condensed form of my journey, but I intended to document the life experiences that I encountered before I attained the accomplishments that I have achieved thus far. Although I am more mature than the average student, my desire to fulfil my ambitions are stronger than ever. My time in the classroom so far has been both rewarding and challenging, but I know — now more than ever — that I have slotted into my destiny of being a teacher.
