by Jaden Schilaci
Growing up, I always dreamed of being some sort of doctor, specifically a brain surgeon. I spent a lot of time in the hospital growing up, so I had a lot of different doctors helping me out. Although I was scared at the time, they inspired me. I wanted to be able to help others the way they did. Also, I always used to watch Grey’s Anatomy with my mom. It was a great show, and it goes into many details about many different medical procedures, shows surgeries, and overall shows an interesting hospital setting that intrigued me.
I would say my dream job officially changed in high school, specifically freshman year. I was in honors biology, a very hard class in my school, and that is when I realized that I wasn’t a science person, hence why I wouldn’t be able to become a doctor one day. I struggled with the exams, quizzes, labs, and even homework. I also realized that doctors have to go to school for an insanely long time, possibly not even getting an actual job until they are 28-30 years old, maybe even later. High school changed my perspective on a lot of things and gave me new ideas, showing me who I truly am/will be.
Now my dream job is to be an English teacher. If you told me that at any time from Kindergarten to senior year of high school, I would’ve laughed at you. I always said a teacher would be the last job I chose; I hated school and just wanted to get away from it. Honestly, even going into college I had no desire to become a teacher. I would say this idea truly popped up mid-first semester of sophomore year. I was taking business classes, and getting straight C’s, and I decided it was time for me to make a change for the better.
To be honest, I don’t truly know how teaching ended up coming to mind. I feel like it could’ve stemmed from missing school and missing being young, or the more likely option: I love to help and inspire people. When I was stuck between what major to choose after I switched from accounting, I thought of what brings me joy. I like knowing that I have helped someone and made a difference in their day/life, similarly to what all those doctors did for me at the hospital when I was younger. Also, when I thought about it, all of my favorite teachers growing up just happened to be male English teachers. I wanted to be like them, and knowing there aren’t many male teachers in the field, it inspired me even more to be unique and take a very different path than I ever thought I would.
Overall, my dream job might have changed dramatically since I was younger, but the idea behind it didn’t change. I wanted to be able to help and inspire people as a doctor/surgeon, but I will still get to do that as a teacher, inspiring my students to be the next best generation. My goal is to go to work every day with a smile on my face, knowing that I am leaving an impact on others, that’s all that truly matters.