PASSION

As of 2012, approximately 26% of the earth’s population is made up of children under the age of 15. More importantly, these children account for 100% of our world’s future. Frolicking, laughing, coloring, teasing, wondering, crying, singing, and learning — they hold power over our hearts and influence our lives even now. Because every experience a child has is absorbed into his or her impressionable mind and carried into adulthood, this stage in human life is not only the most vulnerable, but also the most precious.

 

I am passionate about shaping the lives of youngsters for the better, engaging their minds in things that will prepare them for the future, and encouraging them to gain life skills from any situation. More specifically, I want to show them that they can aim for better than average and dare to defy stereotypes. The conversations that I have with children about real life are the most rewarding, and giving them insight reaffirms my own thoughts and values. The point is: I am crazy about kids.

SO WHAT?

Over the years, children have been a significant part of my life. Ever since the day that I became old enough to be put in a leadership position over another child, I have enjoyed becoming a part of his or her world for just a while. The carefree spirit, emotive impulsivity, caustic sense of justice, and runaway imagination of a child is a breath of fresh air in the midst of the regulation involved in every day living. Being an only child, I have had to be creative in finding ways to bring kids into my life. My experiences in the nursery room of the local church taught me the fundamentals of motivating, amusing, and catching the attention of those under 4 years of age. I gained the most acumen, however, when I got my first job babysitting a for a bilingual (German and English) family. For the first time in my adolescent life, I was given the beautiful gift of having a child say, “I love you.”

 

Additionally, I devoted two summers to volunteering locally at Camp Good News, interacting with kids of diverse backgrounds and ages. I learned how to engage them in activities and discussion, and how they are best motivated to complete a task. As I neared adulthood I changed my role in relation to kids from a more peer-related stance to teacher. I took the initiative to develop my own teaching material, advertise, and finally give piano lessons to children in my area. Most recently, I traveled to Dongducheon, South Korea with my high school in order to teach at Amerasian Christian Academy. My team and I gave the ACA teachers a spring break by developing our own curriculums and instructing classes. I was responsible for three math-related classes. For one week, I learned so much through teaching kids. Though the language barrier came into play occasionally, I was still able to successfully keep them focused, excited about learning, and goal oriented.