Many of my teachers in my adolescence helped shape my identity, especially my English teachers. They helped inspire a love of not only stories, but of sharing these works with those around me. As an educator, I have had many opportunities to share stories and my passion for them with my students.I now aim to emulate these teachers as I give back to my community by teaching middle school English in New Jersey. To me, this is not just about teaching for the sake of my own passion and interest in literature, but about the hope that I can reach out and change even one student's life the way mine was changed by the teachers who guided me.