When I'm 24

On Tuesday October 8, 2013 the numbers of my age changed from 23 to 24.

Not a huge leap, in fact it's times like this where I've come to realize that the importance of birthday celebrations has gone downhill.

At 15 I got my permit.
At 16 I got my license.
At 18 I morphed from a minor to an "adult."
At 21 alcohol beverages became an option.

Anything after has just become another birthday.

If I were to look back 10 years and compare my current living situation to what I had anticipated my life would be like, the result is relatively laughable. (I mean that in good spirit).

When I was 14, 24 looked like that following...

I'd be married.
I'd have a high-paying job.
I'd have a house.
I'd have a kid.

The typical American dream panned out in a preteen fantasy.

Though I haven't accomplished any of the above (for a few of those ideals, it's probably best that I haven't), I am happy to say that within those ten years of dreaming I've gained much needed wisdom and experience.

I'm not married and I don't know when I will be. However, through the dating relationships I have had, I've learned the importance of give and take, communication, respect, you name it. Qualities and knowledge that will help me to be better prepared for when I do join my life with my future husband.

I don't have a high paying job. In fact, I'm probably the poorest I've ever been. Yet, in all honesty, I'm glad my pay check is small. Though the first year was rough, I would not trade my current profession for the world. As a teacher I have received so much undeserved love. Every sweaty, post recess hug. Every handmade drawing. Every moment when I see a kid's eyes light-up because he or she finally understands something. There is nothing I can compare it to.

I don't have a kid. I have fourteen, more if you count the other ones outside of my class that I've gotten to know well. It's strange how maternal I become to each of my students. There are still times when I can't believe that I can control over 10 kids at one time. Yet with each victory and failure, stomachache and fever, I treat these kids as if they were my own.


I praise God for the life He has given me. Though it may not have turned out the way I had wanted when I was 14, it became what I needed at 24.

Here's to another 10 years.