for the past few years of my life i’ve been dead set on being an elementary school teacher. i’ve been planning to go to college for it this year. i’ve never really considered any other careers as this seems like the easiest option since it’s so traditional. recently i’ve been trying to think about if i genuinely want to be a teacher or if i’m just choosing this career because the path is simple. “simple” as in its just so traditional, graduate high school, go to college, get a job. i began to make a pros and cons list and realized that all of the reasons i was writing down for “pros” were just me wanting to help the kids feel happier, safe, and confident. because to be honest, i hate the education system, i think it’s completely pointless. i hate the 9-5 job standard. the only reason i want to be a teacher is because it genuinely seems therapeutic to be in a school and spend time with kids just because they are so fun and i want to be a safe space for them. 

my question is, does this sound like i just want to heal my inner child in a way? when i began writing my “pros” and saw that they all had to do with helping kids feel happy and safe, that really made me think that i want to be a teacher just to heal something about myself. maybe i’m overthinking it and maybe these are completely normal reasons to want to teach but i don’t know