Written Version:

          “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”. This quote was once said by the great, and courageous Nelson Mandela. It is a quote I have, and will always live by. A lot of who I am, and who I will always be stems from education. Education has made me into the person I am today. My grandma, two of my aunts, and my mom were and are teachers. They have been role models for my entire life. 
         On a cold and snowy January morning I roll over to turn off my beeping alarm set for 5:45 am. Today is the first day of my internship at my mom’s school in Troy, New York. I complete my morning routine just in time to jump in the car with my mom for the 20 minute drive to her school. My mom teaches at an inner city school district as a literacy coach, and throughout my life I have been eagerly entering the doors of her school whenever I have free time because I love school. Since I had most of January off for break, I decided this would be a good time to go to my mom’s school and get a taste of something I wasn’t necessarily use to. 
When we get to the school my mom and I walk to the doors on the side of the building to let the freezing kids into the warm building. Some kids look up at with me with bright smiles,  while others look at me miserably because their week has just begun. Seeing these kids made me happy to be there. Seeing them made me so excited for my future. One child stood out in particular to me. She was about 8 years old, African American, and she was wearing a hello kitty sweater. She looked up and says, “who are you, you’re really tall”. I said, “ I’m Mrs. Allen’s daughter, and I’ll be here for the next couple of weeks!”. Then she bluntly said “why?” “Because I want to be a teacher one day!” And then she said, “I hate school, and i can’t imagine being stuck here all my life”. Maybe she was right, maybe being stuck in school my whole life wasn’t going to be too fun. 
Throughout the next couple of weeks I would go in and out of classrooms. On the second day I went up to the little girl who apparently hated school and asked her what her name was. She looked up with a frown and said, “My name is Justice and I hate it”. Without thinking I asked her why. This is when she started to cry, she stomped her feet and threw a tantrum. The teacher was in shock, and asked me what happened separately. The teacher became very disheartened and told me that Justice’s mom was also named Justice. She went on to tell me that Justice’s mom had recently, within the past year, died of a drug addiction, and with no other family member to go to because her father was in jail, Justice was forced to live with her aunt. The teacher hinted that Justice’s behavioral issues had started when she moved in with her aunt. I just sat there in awe, how could one child, 8 years old have lived through so much in her short life time. That night when I went home I was so sad. Justice was making me think more about my future and the implications of have children with all different backgrounds in my classroom. Maybe I might not be strong enough for this profession. 
By the end of my first week Justice threw more temper tantrums and cried in the corner. I tried to let Justice know that she could tell me anything, that she could trust me. The teacher assigned me to work with Justice because she noticed I seemed to like her. It wasn’t all at once, but I realized slowly that not only was I was making a difference in her life, she was making a difference in mine. Every morning she would come up to me and hug me. It was something I looked forward to everyday, she was making me excited to go to my mom’s school everyday.
      At the beginning of my last week at my mom’s school, Justice seemed to perform better in class, although not perfect, she really began to like school. I began to realize that Justice needed to be cared about. I loved being her person to hug, and her person to laugh with. I had made a difference in Justice’s life, and she was clearly making a difference in mine. It is true when people say that, “In teaching you will teach, and in teaching you will learn”. I had learned an awful lot from Justice. She was making me transform any doubts I had about not being a teacher.
      On my last day, Justice was upset I was leaving. She looked up at me while clingy to my leg and said, “Miss Allen can I tell you something? I was just starting to like school”. I had never been so entirely happy in my whole life. Finally I remembered why I wanted to become a teacher. This experience changed my life. I always knew I wanted to do this, but now, now I know why. When children begin to come in to school excited to learn, it becomes a loving, and caring community. One I will introduce into my classroom in the future. I am thankful for my mom as my role model, because without her I might not have ever become a teacher . In these children’s lives that my mom teaches, their worlds are full of weapons and violence. But our jobs as teachers is to make education the “most powerful weapon”, our jobs is to prove to them that they are worth it, they are smart enough to succeed, and that they always have us on their side. Justice changed my life forever, she made me want to teach.  I don’t have the words to thank Justice enough.