I believe that, as a teacher, the greatest gift I can pass on to my students is to make them believe in themselves. Although my students carry much more emotional and financial hardship than children in traditional schools, it is rare that they lack the innate ability to succeed. They simply have had a rough life and they have forgotten that they have worth and that they matter. I try to instill that into them everyday. I just happen to be a math teacher, a discipline that I have come to love. I try to show that enthusiasm so that they too can find their path, whatever that may be. My interests are fitness (our bodies are the only ones we will ever get so let's take good care of them) and animal husbandry (we share the earth, we don't own it).