I walked into the fifth grade classroom, a liter of purified water in one hand and a bag of colorful paper bugs, posters, toothbrushes and lesson plans I’d developed neatly tucked under the other. It was our last class of the day and I was exhausted from my early morning classes. Little kids were a handful and my lack of experience made teaching a unique challenge, but I wouldn’t trade my students for the world and now I...

Essay regarding a time I failed at something new

It all started with a simple question: “Do you wanna come along?” I’d said ‘yes’ without a second thought. I’d never been ice skating in my entire life, but how hard could it possibly be? Besides, wasn’t it important to always try everything at least once? The skating rink was nothing like I’d pictured it: it was small and crowded and the ice didn’t look as smooth and white and perfect as it always did...