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By: Jazmine H
The future. It is Something most people think about and plan for from a young age. However no matter how much you plan for, life can always throw a curveball at you and flip those plans upside down.
For Yerba Buena teacher Ryan Busby that's exactly what happened.
Busby always knew he wanted to study math and eventually become more of an academia; he was even enrolled into a program to get his phd.
Busby: “ had pursued to be an academia i was gonna go for my phd i was enrolled in a phd program and life throws curveballs at you and so my girlfriend at the time we were 18 and 19 she became pregnant and so my academic plans changed and i had to do something to provide ”
His new “plan” was to become a high school teacher as it was the easiest and fastest way to earn money with his degree.
It wasn't what he intentionally planned on doing but he eventually fell in love with his job.
His first year teaching he struggled. He recalls his first year and cringes slowly but surely he improves more and more picking one thing a year to focus and improve on.
Busby: “ i always had to focus on something to work at it was always like classroom management then it was content delivery then it was cell phones so i always had to pick one area and try to improve it that year”
He started to appreciate the small things about teaching such as the bonds and influence you leave students with. Things such as whenever a student writes to him thanking him for the impact he leaves reminds him that this job isn't all that bad.
As time went on Busby loved his job more and more, really enjoying the small things that occur. He also enjoyed the bonds that he was able to make with students. The impact they leave on his life and vice versa.
Busby: “I really enjoy the students. I like the bonds you make with kids the influence you have on them. Sometimes you impact their lives in ways you don't see that they tell you about later. It's always those little moments where a student will write something about me or give me a thank you letter and I keep them all. Those are the little things i look forward to it's the little things about teaching.”
There are still times where Busby thinks back and wonders what his life would be like if he got his PHD and stuck to his original plan, but he has fallen in love with teaching and doesn't plan on switching careers any time soon.
Sometimes your life gets put onto another path than originally intended that doesn't always mean that you ended up on the wrong path. Sometimes those curveballs lead you to the path you were meant to take all along.
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