Well, it all started when I was in 4th grade. This kid named Christian Breed started doodling floor plans after lunch when our teacher would read to us. I think his family was building or buying a home and he wanted to show us what the house looked like...I think (it's funny how we remember things incorrectly sometimes). Anyways, I decided that it would be fun for me to draw a house plan of a home that I made up in my head. So, I started drawing floor plans when the teacher read to us after lunch. I did it every day for the rest of elementary school.
I got into Jr. High and started spending my babysitting money on graph paper. I would go to the library and check out floor plan books and search them for ideas. I decided that I DEFINITELY wanted to be an architect when I grew up. I loved designing floor plans! Well, of course there's a lot more to architecture than making up floor plans on graph paper. But I didn't know that.
In high school as a freshman I decided to take a drafting class. Here I was, a little freshman in a class full of junior and senior boys. I sat at my own table until this pregnant gangster-wanna-be senior added the class and she sat at my table. She smelled like cigarettes. I was overwhelmed because everything I learned about drafting had nothing to do with architecture and everything to do with engineering. I was painfully shy in that class because I didn't know anyone and was too intimidated to talk to anyone. I felt like I was an inconvenience to Mr. Duty because he didn't really know what to do with me since I wanted to learn about drafting and architecture not drafting and engineering. One day when I was lifting my drafting board from the table I dropped it and it slammed to the ground. I remember Mr. Duty called me a klutz in front of everyone and I was mortified. I decided then and there that drafting was definitely not my thing, and if I didn't like drafting, then I wouldn't like being an architect. I decided that drawing floor plans and having a interest in architecture was a great hobby, but no longer a career path for me. Granted, back in 1998 schools still taught drafting by hand and not on computers--I had heard of auto-CAD but had never seen it used. I've been happy with the other experiences that have come to me by getting out of drafting. I enjoyed drama and Spanish in High School instead.
When did I truly decide I wanted to be a teacher, not until my Senior year, right before my mission. Yup, I had practically taken all of my education classes at that point but still wasn't fully committed that that's what I wanted to do. I still do online searches for floor plans when I'm procrastinating my homework. I think I will always have an interest in architecture/home design/contracting.
