If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader: John Quincy Adams. Effective school leaders possess a complex set of knowledge, skills and standards. Education is about determining how to learn and helping those around you discover their own visions and potential. It is the responsibility of an effective leader to be a catalyst for change and a source of inspiration and encouragement. Personal Story Even at a young age, I loved teaching and always knew it would be my profession. Making school desks out of sticks and mud while giving homework to Baby Alive is a fond and cherished memory I have that dates back to my early childhood. At the age of 4, I pushed my mother to allow me to start school a year early because my brother was starting first grade, and I didn't want to be left out. After being with the same twenty students for eight years, I entered middle school together with almost 400 other students. Middle school became a turning point in my life and I knew I had to depend on myself if I wanted to achieve my goals. I kept my grades high and continued to excel in honors classes. Throughout my high school years, many teachers inspired me and others disappointed me. It is for this reason that I decided that I want to be the teacher who gives students the desire to achieve and not the teacher who loves to humiliate. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I realized English would be my field of specialization thanks to my senior English teacher. She was a teacher who set high expectations, demanded excellent work, and never gave up when I thought I couldn't do it. Receiving an A in his class was the highlight of my high school career! Then… halfway through the card… it seems so overwhelming, but exciting at the same time. Following suggestions in reading and watching videos of successful principals is both stressful and encouraging. When I start something, I want to be the best. It's great to see that this can be accomplished through hard work and surrounding yourself with the best support system possible. As a teacher, I had a tendency to think that principals have too much time on their hands, when in reality it's the exact opposite. Just because they aren't in a classroom full of students all day doesn't mean they aren't just as busy as the rest of us, most of the time, more so! I have gained a new respect for the amount of time and energy it takes to be an effective principal and hope that I can have the same success and interest as the principals I have had the opportunity to work for during my 18-year teaching career. teacher.