Why have I chosen to tutor? Tutoring allows me to help people learn how to think better about problems. I value math and science for their strengths as logical exercises; these subjects help us improve our ability to think, and thus are important to being a rational person in the world. Can you organize your thoughts in order to solve a problem? Are you able to be flexible and find creative solutions to get past certain issues? A good problem will exercise these skills and better prepare you for the world, which will throw problem after problem at you.
Helping students to better engage with these subjects truly does--in my opinion--have an impact on their lives as a whole, and thus is terribly important. And this process is not without personal benefit for me: getting others to understand material is very difficult, and often requires the tutor to find creative ways to reframe the problem. This is a challenge that I enjoy putting myself under, and I believe it strengthens communication and reasoning skills.
Lastly, the vicarious joy I receive from seeing someone conquer a problem they had no confidence they could solve is truly illuminating; this may sound trite, but it makes me feel as though I have found a calling. As though this is something I can and will do for the rest of my life, whether it be as a friend, a colleague, a sibling or a parent, I hope to be able to find a way to encourage those I encounter to transcend their own mental limitations until the day I die.