When I was 8 years old...

When I was 8 years old, I probably wanted to be a basketball player or a lawyer when I grew up. Besides a pretty solid jump shot and an innate ability to easily be pulled into an argument, it is safe to say that the perception of how my life would turn out through the eyes of a timid young kid was pretty far off. There are days that my mind becomes wrapped up in the tangled web that led me to where I am now. Today was one of these days.

I walked into the school where I teach this morning, going through my morning routine of checking my mail box, hiking up the stairs, dumping all my stuff on my desk and getting settled in the classroom. After all of this, I made my way up to the third floor for morning gathering, a time in which the whole school comes together and starts the day off. I sat amongst the kids as a grown up version of my middle school self... Still with that same wonder and curiosity: Why am I here? Where am I going?

I never saw myself as someone who would end up becoming a teacher. I just kind of fell into it. Now I'm kind of falling in love with it. There are the days where the stress of it all gets to me...but when a struggling student starts raising her hand more in your class after you've talked to her about working harder, or when a student opens up to you about some family issues he is struggling with at home, it is impossible not to feel like you are making some sort of positive difference in a kid's life. And what profession allows you to have an opportunity to do that every single day you show up? Teaching. And coaching.

As the coach of the basketball team at the school, I have made relationships with a group of boys that I am sure has positively effected each one of them. Others have said this, and I feel it every day. No money, benefits, or other compensation can replace that feeling. My mind may be a bit lost at this juncture in my life, but I'm one of the luckiest confused-and-just-out-of-college guys around. I'm not pulling in a pro-basketball player salary or living on a lawyer's income, but my heart is rich. 

Whereas I'm nervous about what lies ahead for me, I am excited to see where my choices lie and what that will mean for my future. Whether its teaching, coaching, or writing novels, I want to have an impact on people. I want to affect lives, young and old. That is what I want. That I am sure of.

-Daley