Ballerina Dreams

First and foremost I would like to say how I excited I am to be able to participate in this blog. At first I was absolutely dreading this task and viewed it as tedious and extremely repetitive of similar assignments in other classes. However, I was quickly able to identify the critical piece of information that made this blog unlike any other: we are able to write freely about any topics with regards to literature that are of interest! It is SO refreshing to be able to just sit down and write my thoughts, feelings, and emotions rather than being assigned a specific topic founded upon numerous rules and regulations.

Secondly, when thinking about class Wednesday night I cannot help but be drawn to a specific book that a group was assigned to evaluate: Ballerina Dreams. Immediately upon catching glimpse of the cover I was filled with overwhelming feelings of joy and hope. Since I was in fifth grade, I knew that I wanted to become a special education teacher. At this age I began working at a camp for children with special needs that my mother created. Since that summer, I knew what career path God had set out for me. Nearly ten years later, upon my acceptance to the college of education, my mother, a former special education teacher herself, gave me the book Ballerina Dreams. Inside the front cover she had written: "One hundred years from now, it will not matter how much money I had in my bank account, how large my house was, or what kind of car I drove. But the world may be a little better, because I was important in the life of a child. " There has never been a gift that has been more precious to me and held so close to my heart. That book, in essence, represents every goal and aspiration that I have set for myself since the age of ten. The personal feelings and emotions that that story elicits in me are priceless. To me, that is what defines an excellent piece of literature. One that not only tells a tale, but tells the story of your own destiny.



(I am dedicating this post to my mom for inspiring me to be who I am today :) I love her dearly and will always appreciate the passion for students with disabilities that she has instilled in me)