Experience in Education

If I had to write about one specific experience that significantly influenced my education, I would have to write about my high school Literature teacher, Mr. Hughes. To me he was more than just a teacher, he was also my coach for track and field; most importantly he was a big influence in my life.

My dream as a freshman was to attend Stanford University to become an anesthesiologist. Yes, as a freshman, I did have crazy dreams and high expectations of myself. Mr. Hughes would classify me as a “dreamer.” Each and every day I would come to him with a new dream that I would want to achieve. “Mr. Hughes, I want to travel the world to practice medicine and help those who do not have the supplies for healthcare.” “Mr. Hughes, I want to be part of the research for cancer to help those who are diagnosed with cancer live a longer and happier life.” Anything else that consisted of helping and caring for others were part of my dreams.

One day Mr. Hughes asked me if I had ever thought about being a nurse, for the nurse is the person who tends to all the patients’ needs and comforts them in times of trouble. My first response was absolutely not! I saw nurses as those who did all the dirty work and had no fun. I wanted a job that had new experiences every day; I loved never knowing what was going to come my way because I loved a new challenge every day.

Mr. Hughes taught me to follow my heart and to not let anyone or anything get in my way of achieving my dreams. Now in college, I am pursuing my dream of getting my bachelor’s degree in nursing, later going to CRNA (nurse anesthetist) school, and then getting into research and finding cures for diseases. However, as Mr. Hughes would say, my dreams may change because after all I am a dreamer. Who knows! Maybe I will do nursing missions in Africa….I think I will add that to my list of dreams. For now, I will put everything in God’s hands, for he is the one who directs my path.