Education
The sole reason she had become a teacher was to help underprivileged children. By being a teacher, she could ensure they got the grades needed for college, for an apprenticeship, for a job.
Why? Because they were less likely to get into trouble. Less likely to become homeless or unemployed or inclined to crime.
Rachel couldn't name all of the students that she had taught. Countless faces passed her by, almost a blur, but the span of her career was not calculated by the amount of people that she had met. It was by the exam ratings that came through each year, the percentage of success when it came to the extracurricular programmes she had implemented. It was the amount of 'thank you's that she had received before she left for the summer.
But in being the teacher, she had also learnt a few valuable lessons of her own. How to let go and enjoy the moment, how to be patient (even when being tested by the students and staff), how to compromise, and how to love. Even when it felt impossible.
But most of all, she learnt to expect the unexpected. Because teenagers always knew how to surprise her, no matter how many years of experience she had.
Thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with my story and leaving lovely reviews, even when I'm gone for ages. As I can't send you a message personally, thank you to hannah5240 for your reviews! They mean a lot.