Practice Blog Post

Outline
1. Short summary about myself.
2. Why do I want to be an educator?
3. What I think educator's, of the 21st century, work entails
4. What is my passion? What am I best at? What do I want to be better at?
5. Other interesting things about me?

1. My name is Taylor Gray. I am a Secondary Education/English major here at South. I have attended South for three years and never considered going anywhere else. Go Jags! I was born in Louisiana but have lived in Mobile my whole life. My family includes me, my mom, dad, and two toddler brothers. Yes, it's weird that I am 20 years old and I have siblings that are 2 and 3.
2. I have always wanted to be an educator. My teachers I had when growing up were the biggest influences in my life. They pushed me to my limits and showed me I am capable of anything I set my mind to. I want to be that for someone else. Plus, I love school and have never imagined my life not being in it for some reason or another. Even if I wasn't going to be an educator, I would keep attending college for new degrees.
3. I believe that 21st century teachers should be up to date on all new technologies that their students could possibly have. Teachers should be familiar with different teaching methods that can enhance their classroom and teaching abilities.That is to say, that I do still believe in being a traditional type teacher as well. Because those were the kinds of teachers I had, and they're the reason I want to be an educator, I believe it is still effective in a classroom to be a little less tech dependent at times too.
4. I have a passion for writing/reading. This may be evident from me being an English major, but it has always been a dream of mine to be a published, successful writer. Along with being a teacher, I hope to continue pursuing my true passion, which is to write. Even if it never works out, I will always keep writing for the love of it. I'm best at poetry and I hope to one day become better at more developed writing such as novels and short stories. Below is a sample of my most recent poetry.

Photo: Taken and written by Taylor Gray
5. Some other note worthy things about me include: I own a hedgehog named Kohaku (he is extremely spoiled), I am also a Spanish minor and I hope to one day teach in Spain, I love all things nerdy and weird (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pokemon, etc...), and I hope to one day have taught elementary school all the way through college.

I hope this wasn't too boring for you. I'm really friendly and would love to help anyone in this class anyway I can! Message me, say hello, and let's do this future educators!