My journey to become a teacher.

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Honestly, I never intended to become one. I had all my plans set out:

1. I was going to become an accountant.
2. I was going to move to Australia.
3. I was never going to marry or have gets.

Wake up call, Tanya!

Live never happens the way you plan it out.

1. I became a teacher.
2. I only moved back to Namibia after studying in South Africa
3. I am married with three kids.

Totally opposite of what I planned, but I am loving every moment of it.

So here is my story...

My dad passed away when I was four and we moved to a little minerstown called Carletonville. No one wants to live their but hey, mom needed a support system and my grandparents lived there. When I was eleven my mom remarried to a wonderful man and we moved to a farm in Namibia. I went to a Private Primary school and was send away to boarding school during High School since there was no high school nearby.

I knew my mom didn't have the means to send me to University, so I had to work for a bursary. But by this stage I was throwing myself behind my books because the rest of my life was falling apart. I was diagnosed with clinical depression. Like a lot of people we search for ways to feel better. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful support group of friends whom invited me to join them doing missionary work.

This was where I met Juf Anna and Oom Johan. Pardon the Afrikaans terms, but I can't do them justice when I call them Teacher Anna and Uncle Johan. It just doesn't sound right. Juf Anna was a teacher at our neighbourschool and Oom Johan was her husband.

They were my saving grace.

They taught me to believe again. They made me realize that I had a purpose in life. That making a difference is way more important than making a lot of money and the best place to make a difference is through working with children.

And I actually enjoy it.

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If it wasn't for them I would have become someone/something else.

Yes, there are days when the kids make me so mad that I just want to quit, but then I take a step back and re-realize my purpose. I look for the small things, those moments that makes everything worth while.

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Today I love working with kids. I love seeing and experiencing the "light bulb" moments. Those moments when everything just falls into place. I wouldn't change working with special ed learners. I love seeing how they suddenly realize but they can touch their toes with their hands, how they can hold a pencil correctly.

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The small things.

I realized:

I am where I should be. I am a teacher because I must be one.

I am... because I can make a difference.

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