One particular stressful and frustrating day, I entered my last-period class in the morning. To start the lesson, I asked my seventh-grade students to write their greatest dream in a small sheet of paper. I can still recall as one of them told me “ Ma’am amo lang lukoton ma’am kay maulaw mi plastar kaayo,. Ikaw ra gyud basa ani ma’am hah “ or “Ma’am we will just roll our paper because we’re too shy to reveal it to you. Promise us that you’ll be the only person who reads it.” I agreed with a nod.

One by one, they submitted their carefully rolled papers containing their greatest dreams, which ranged from wanting to be lawyers, teachers, businessmen, pilots, policemen, and politicians to more materialistic dreams like getting a drone, a car, or a phone. However, one student remained silently seated at the back of the room. I didn’t want to rush him, so I waited patiently until he stood up and handed me his paper. I can still visualize very clearly his ruffled hair, and his worn out and faded Khakis which was probably a hand me down from an older sibling, his uniform unbuttoned at the top. He smiled at me and said, “Sorry, Ma’am, it took too long.”

 I carefully unrolled his paper, and what I read nearly brought me to tears. He had written, “Ang aking pangarap ay ang makatikim ng tsokolate” or “My dream is to taste a chocolate.” At that moment, I was moved by the sincerity and the innocence of his dream. While other students had written ambitious dreams, he had simply wished to taste a chocolate.

I looked at my student from afar, I saw how he evaded my eyes as he noticed me gazing at him. He offered a shy smile and scratched his head knowing that I already read what he wrote. After the following days, I had the chance to go downtown, so I bought him the biggest chocolate bar I could find and handed it to him. “Here’s your dream,”I said. His eyes lit up as he saw the chocolate bar and asked, “Are you serious that this is all mine, Ma’am?” I nodded, and he thanked me politely. He shared his chocolate with his friends, smiling from ear to ear.

As a young teacher, I often forget that the act of teaching is a win in itself. Fulfilling my students’ dreams, no matter how simple or complicated they maybe, is a part of that win. As for me, it’s all worth it!