From the age of six, I remember declaring that becoming an elementary school teacher was the dream job I wanted to pursue. I would say that this interest was sparked after being inspired by my second grade teacher who demonstrated passion when she taught us. I attended a public elementary school, which was arguably more advanced compared to most. They were notable for their teaching staff, high academics and more importantly, their technological advances. They had already implemented Smart Boards, an interactive whiteboard, into most of their classrooms. As a result, most of my teachers greatly utilized this tool in their lesson plans. In addition, they had computers available for each student in their computer lab and taught crucial skills that students should know, such as keyboard typing, finding a useful search engine and making PowerPoint presentations. Due to this exposure to technology and hands-on resources at a young age, I became a visual and kinesthetic learner.
After grade five, the middle school I attended had placed great emphasis on their academics and athletics. As a result, this encouraged me to join my first basketball team. This gave me the chance to build new friendships, experience the adrenaline when I was on the court and learn about the importance of teamwork. It made me realize that if a team shared a common mindset, anything can be accomplished and the idea of winning champions was not a farfetched goal.
My family decided to move after I finished grade six and that was when my world flipped upside down. I had to learn how to adapt to a new school environment and build new friendships. Although this was a frightening experience at that time, looking back today, I realized that it has taught me how to deal with change.
Around this time, I started developing my appreciation for the arts and discovering my artistic talent. In grade eight, my class was assigned the task of drawing a self-portrait caricature and I vividly remember the positive feedback I received from my classmates and teacher on my final submission. I decided to create my own personal blog to share all the art projects I was doing in class and to share the photographs I was taking of my friends during recess. With my teacher’s constant praise on my work and my desire to update my blog with fresh content, I started taking my art projects very seriously. I started viewing all my assignments differently, thinking of ways to “break the rules” that were given and spending lots of time at Michaels Craft Store. Moving on to high school, the school I attended did not believe in dividing up the school year in semesters. As a result, we were required to take 8 courses all year round. This certainly taught me how to become better at time management, which was a crucial skill I was able to carry over to my post-secondary studies.
As I continued with my blog throughout high school, I started taking photography more seriously. As a result, my parents graciously upgraded me from my little pink digital camera to my first DSLR camera. With this new equipment, I started to teach myself the fundamentals of photography. I started learning how each setting worked, how each button functioned and how to edit photos. Meanwhile, I was still carving out this image of myself in high school as the “overachiever.” I continued setting the standards so high for myself and stopped viewing my assignments as a freedom of expression. I wanted my work to set myself apart from the others. The desire and drive to be acknowledged by my peers and teachers had caused me a great deal of unnecessary stress. I eventually came to the realization that I did not want to pursue graphic design or illustration, as my second degree, in university.
The intention of my blog began to change in grade 11. I stopped using my site as a portfolio to display my art projects and started to focus all of my energy in photography. I consider photography as a better outlet for me. I like that my work was not being compared to others in my class and more importantly, I like that I was not being assessed on my technical skill or competency.
Fast forward to today, I am a fourth year student who is on her way to achieving her dream of becoming an elementary school teacher. Through all the different stages I had in my education, I learned to be more adaptive, daring and open-minded. I am currently studying digital media arts, alongside my concurrent education degree, at York University. This is a well-rounded program, which has mathematics and art as required courses to take. Coincidentally, I am interested in teaching art and mathematics to primary/junior students once I graduate.
The arts continue to become a big part of my life, as I am taking photography more seriously. The commitment to my blog has opened me up to new opportunities over the years (i.e. shooting a TTC event, wedding, yoga seminars etc.) that I am so grateful for. Through my discovery of finding my passion for photography, I have realized the arts should be treated the same status as literacy and our generation should create an education system that encourages freedom of self-expression and nurtures creativity.