I became a teacher because I wanted to build students’ self worth. I didn’t have a pleasant educational experience, and I wanted to make a mark for the better.

Everyday is memorable, but, when a former student reached out to me and showed me that — a decade later — she still wears a hand-me-down necklace I gifted her and told me she is studying English at college because of me, my heart felt full. I keep a poem she wrote inside a Shakespeare book in my cabinet at school, and, when I’m having a rough day, I read it to remind me of my purpose.

I would spend it on my classroom and students. I would also get more manicures and hair product (if I’m being real).