Sometimes, as contrary as it may sound, you have to let go of what you love. Sometimes it’s the only way to grow. Sometimes it’s the only way to know. Sometimes it’s the only way. Sometimes, it just is.
My first love is teaching. I will never be able to articulate how important my students are to me. One of my favorite aspects after graduating college has been my students. I’ve been surrounded by outstanding friends, experiences, travels, and family, and my students have always made me laugh, think, appreciate, reflect, stay young, look back, look ahead, and live life. You can easily look at any child and know that the entire world lies ahead of him or her. It reminds you that the entire world lies ahead of you as well, regardless of age.
With the world ahead of me, I started chasing my second love, public health. As many of you know, I went to Kenya and had the experience of a lifetime. I ended up teaching Women’s Health and it led me down a path that did not have the option of turning back. Last summer, I took the GRE and got into the number fifteen school in the nation for public health, the University of Illinois at Chicago. The acceptance letter was bittersweet. In the blink of an eye, the hours of studying, the nerve-wracking testing, and the tedious amount of time spent on the application had all joyously paid off. The electric shock of happiness cooled quickly as I realized acceptance of this lifestyle meant leaving behind my current one. The decision ping-ponged in my mind for months. Could I leave something I loved so much? What if I was making a mistake? Would I regret leaving? Would I regret staying? Which did I love more? Could I love both equally? I was plagued by questions with no answers, and those are the worst questions that exist. But, alas, I came to a realization.
The hardest choices aren’t the ones where you don’t know if the move you’re making is the ‘right’ one. The hardest choices are the ones where you are leaving one love for another, so both choices are the ‘right’ one. Just as some of us have left a lover to chase a possibility, put miles between friends to capture a wish, and have parted from family to tackle a dream, I am leaving teaching to chase, capture, and tackle a possibility... a wish... a dream. So, with a heavy heart, I bid farewell to my first love, teaching, to pursue my other first love, public health. Cheers, District 204. It’s been a beautiful ride and an even more beautiful journey.
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