I'm going to be a South Carolina Gamecock!
I am so beyond thrilled to say that I will be attending the University of South Carolina and majoring in Elementary Education beginning in the fall! I was accepted to USC back in December and put down my deposit almost a month ago and I am so excited to be a Gamecock in the fall! Below I'm answering the two big questions I get asked about this decision so if you're curious to know why I chose USC and Elementary Education as major keep on reading!
Why South Carolina?
For as long as I can remember my family and I have traveled to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and each time on our way down we would stop in Columbia, South Carolina and take quick break from driving to walk around campus. We began stopping in Columbia when I was in 6th grade and ever since that first moment I stepped on campus as a 6th grader, I knew that I wanted to call USC my home.
Fast forward 6 years to junior/senior year of high school when I seriously started looking at schools. Being that I had been interested in USC since 6th grade it was just a given that I would apply there but in those 6 years, another school caught my attention and I instantly fell in love with that school and it quickly became my top choice. My mom and I took an official tour of USC in the summer going into my senior year and I really liked the campus and everything the school had to offer but there was just something about that other school that drew me to it and away from USC. Long story short, that school ended up being way harder to get into than my family and I had expected so we were shocked when we opened the mailbox and found a small envelope compared to the anticipated large acceptance letter. I had kind of put all my eggs in that schools basket so to find out I hadn't been accepted really rocked my world. For almost the last year it was that school and only that school to me, I had basically shut out the possibility of attending any other school. After finding out I wasn't accepted my mom and I traveled down to Columbia that next weekend so that I could look at USC again.
We arranged for us to sit in on an elementary education course, meet & talk with the professor, and then chatted with a current student over sweet teas and iced coffees. From the moment I stepped into the education building I got that feeling and I just knew. It's really difficult to explain but I'm sure those who have already made their college decision would agree, you just know when you've found your school. Sitting in on that class and talking with the professor further emphasized that USC was where I belonged. Chatting with the current student was even more reassuring that I had made my decision.
I know that some of y'all may be thinking "So, USC was a second choice?" but I don't like to think of it that way. Yes, I didn't end up at the school that I thought was my number one but I did end up at the school that I had dreamt about attending from the beginning of middle school to the end of high school. South Carolina was always where I was meant to be, things just got a little jumbled up in the chaos that is high school and life. Sometimes things have to get messy for you to realize where you truly belong. In the end, everything happened for a reason and now I get to call Columbia my home and y'all, I am so flipping excited.
Why Elementary Education?
I've known that I wanted to be a teacher since I was in 3rd grade. For the last nine years, the only profession I ever said I wanted to pursue was teaching. I am blessed to have grown up in a truly incredible school district with fabulous teachers who made me want to pursue the career I will soon be pursuing.I've always loved working with kids and teaching others is something that makes my heart so extremely happy and I am so excited to be able to do that as a career. I volunteer after school a couple times each week in my former 3rd grade teachers classroom and work with students on whatever topics they're currently learning. Typically, I work with students who need help understanding math problems. They tend to get frustrated with themselves very quickly when they don't get problems right but when they finally get the correct answer, the smiles on their faces and to see how proud they are absolutely melts my heart and reassures me that teaching is where I belong. I want to teach students how to think, not what to think.
Go Gamecocks!
xoxo,
