Although my heart always told me that I wanted to teach, for many years my head lead me on many different paths away from the classroom. In fact, after graduating with a BA in English, I worked as a Jr. Account Executive for a public relations firm, a Writer/Editor for a publishing company, a Buyer for a highly successful fashion company, and a Real Estate Agent for a family owned business. Opportunity, money, family, and other factors lead me astray from where I knew I really wanted to be—in the classroom. Although I learned a great deal that would prove extremely useful later on once I entered into the classroom, while working in these fields, it never felt right. Finally, after many years of wanting to become a teacher, six weeks after my daughter was born, I finally pursued my dream and went back to school to earn my Teaching Certificate. The day I entered the classroom, although I was admittedly petrified, I knew I had found my home. And since then, although frustrated at times, I have never regretted it. In my free time, I love to take pictures, read, snowboard, spend time with my husband and daughter, eat (I prefer not to cook, but I love eating my husband's delicious cooking), and recently I have begun to get involved in fitness-related events. In fact, I just successfully finished the Tough Mudder, a 13 mile obstacle course designed by the British Armed Forces. If someone told me a few months ago that I was going to do something this extreme I would have told them they were crazy. Getting the nerve to even attempt this race and then finishing it is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life! I am looking forward to doing even more events like these in the near future!