I never wanted to teach. I never even wanted to go to college.

But I also didn’t have any options. I slacked off in high school with the mindset that I wasn’t going to college. With less than 6 months before my high school graduation, everyone was talking about their plans, I didn’t have one and I really didn’t care.

My sister on the other hand did. She was only 14 months older than me and seemed to have all the college stuff figured out before she was a senior in high school. I was interested in having fun, going to games, and talking on the phone with my friends. Not her. Now away at college, I thought the only cool thing about my senior year was having my own room.

But one weekend while she was visiting from college, she asked what I was going to do without a college degree. Nobody ever asked me that question. Teachers, counselors, or anybody in my school life never seemed to care about my future, so naturally, neither did I.

At the time, the only thing I kind of liked about school was being part of my power-lifting team and winning trophies. I never tried in school so I didn’t know what I was good at. So my response was, “I don’t know, maybe a personal trainer.” She laughed and shook her head.

This was 18 years ago, before Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and all the other platforms where you can really make money with fitness. When I think about it now, I laugh too because although I like the idea of being fit, it’s not something I enjoy trying to keep up at.

After she found out I was serious she said, “Go to community college, and figure out what you are good at, major in English.” For the first time ever I thought, English?

What are you going to do with a degree in English?

I liked my English classes in high school because reading and writing were easy for me, but I never tried so I got D’s in my senior English class. My teachers never pushed me, so if I had potential, I wouldn’t even know about it.

I remember doing my senior thesis on police brutality and I don’t think my English teacher was amused at all. Needless to say, I got a D, probably just for turning it in.

That following Monday, I went to my high school counselor and asked for an application to the local community college. I will never forget the look of shock on his face. I guess I wasn’t surprised. I was in trouble a lot at school, with fights, skipping class, and just really bored with what school was offering me, so I couldn’t blame him. On top of that, I was even voted most likely to be seen in the principal’s office! Nevertheless, we filled out the application in his office and it was sent in. I then filled out my financial aid forms and from there I was on my way.

From the start of my college education, I decided to major in English. It was the only subject I thought was easy enough to excel in.

What bugged me was when I told people what my major was, the expected I was going to be a teacher.

I would just laugh and said no, I could never be a teacher.  I hope to be a journalist someday and write my heart out with groundbreaking stories. But at the time, I didn’t live in a big enough city to give me all that journalism had to offer and there was no way I could do an internship for free/college credit. Growing up, without a lot of money, I had to work my entire time through college to make ends meet.

Now you know teaching isn’t something I always dream of but it became my calling.

With my hope of becoming a journalist, I interned (with a small stipend) and worked part-time at various news tribunes. I also did some freelancing with up and coming online magazines and newsletters.

But that work didn’t last long, and I had to make a steady income. So I started working for the government as a student office assistant. I hated that job. It was during the time when Hurricane Katrina hit. I head very discriminating comments that I didn’t put up with at all and made sure to report.

That’s when I started looking for a new job. While on my quest to find something else, I saw in an ad for emergency substitute teachers in a neighboring school district. I decided to give it a go and signed up for the 8-hour training. I didn’t even wait to see what it was like before I told the government job I wanted to focus on other work opportunities and I was out of there.

I got to the training late that morning. It was a half hour away and I had to get a ride from a family member to get there. But they still let me in the training.

During the training, we watched videos from Harry Wong, the G.O.A.T. in terms of teaching. That was actually my first time hearing about him. I never took an education class, so this was all new to me. And then we listened to principals talk about what they wanted from substitutes.

Once completed, we filled out paperwork and were sent to complete background checks.  About a week later I received a call saying I was ready to go on the substitute list. They informed me that since I was an emergency substitute I had to wait until after all the regular substitutes were called and exhausted before I can be called. But that didn’t take long.

In March 2006, I stepped foot in my first classroom as a substitute teacher, it was a 5th-grade classroom and it was exhausting.

But I kind of liked it. I remember never looking at the clock throughout the day to see when I can go home. Time flew by! For the rest of that school year, I subbed as much as I can.

One day, I remember getting a call from a teacher thanking me for following the sub plans and getting her students to do work. She said she would have subs that would sit back and read the paper and that she wish she could request me but couldn’t because I was an emergency substitute.

That summer I found out I was pregnant with my son.

I knew I loved to write and a journalist is what I wanted to be. But I also knew that the life of a journalist wasn’t going to fit the mommy lifestyle. I couldn’t go out and do interviews, and be on the go in a moments notice. I also knew I needed to leave the place I grew up for more prospects and other opportunities in journalism and this wasn’t feasible at the time.

So in January 2007, just a couple of months before my son was born, I enrolled in my first education class, to begin my path to become an English teacher. In March of 2010, I completed my Master’s degree in Secondary Education from Grand Canyon University with my Washington state teacher certification.

Something I denied all 4 years of college is my profession today, it’s crazy what God has planned for you in an unplanned life.

My journey to college, the phone call from the teacher I subbed for, and the reality of becoming a mother brought me to a career that brought so much fulfillment in life and a sense of purpose.

Please share your journey to becoming a teacher in the comments section. I would love to hear other teacher journeys and soon compile a thread for up and coming teachers.