I Don’t Like It, I Love It

“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stressed; working hard for something we love is called passion.” –Simon Sinek

I have been an elementary school teacher for the last ten years. Teaching was actually my second career. I didn’t start teaching until I was 28 years old. I had already been married for seven years, and my wife and I had two kids. I was unsatisfied with my current job. I was working at a bank at the time. There was one day at work, someone I was working with told me I was bored with my job, and that’s why I didn’t like it. I sought out something different, and I trained to become an elementary teacher. Ten years later, and I still love it. It is not an easy job, but I am passionate about it. I think that’s why I am so positive at work. I love what I do. I get to see students light up when learning something new for the first time. By the end of the school year, I become a major part of my students lives. My goal is to be a positive part of their lives. I want them to look back and have their time my classroom be one of the best years in school of their lives.

Often, I will have co-workers come up to me and ask, “why are you in such a good mood?” I used to not know who to respond. It wasn’t until recently that I realized how to. Now when I am asked, “how am I in such a good mood?” I respond with, “because I love this job.” I find joy in it every single day. Do I have days where I can’t take it anymore? Yes. Do I have days that I feel like will never end? Of course. Every job has that. The question is, do you love what you do enough in order to be able to push through those moments, and continue to make an impact where you are?

I took these photos last Christmas when we stayed near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It had rained a lot that week, and it caused all of the streams to rise. One morning I walked down the mountain we were staying on following the stream, and I took pictures of every scene that caught my eye.