“What do you want to be when you grow up?” said the prompt on the page. I was fresh off of the realization that I wasn’t going to become an NBA basketball player and was fresh out of ideas of what should fill my intended career void. The year was 2006 and I was sitting in my 9th grade social studies class beside my best friend Logan.

I looked over at Logan’s paper, and noticing that it was also blank, I looked up at him and said, “do you have any idea what you want to be when you grow up?” He met my gaze and said confidently, “a Gym teacher of course!”

“A gym teacher?” I said surprised. “Yeah, what could be better? You play sports and games with kids all day and get to wear track pants and shorts to work. Doesn’t that sound nice? Think about Mr. Eagles, our middle school PE teacher, that man is awesome and he loves his job.” he said.

That just might work, I thought. We both nodded at each other and promptly jotted down “gym teacher” on our no longer blank pages. And little did I know it, but at that moment my career path was started.

The picture above is of my best friend Logan and I on a field trip to a train museum. It was taken the year before the story from the start of this post. Photo credit: Emily Stubbert (2005). Emily, you’re a good friend thank you very much for sharing this picture with me. Tragically, my brother Logan passed away in October, 2013. My heart was broken that day and will never be completely repaired. I miss my best friend and I often reflect on the tremendous memories that we made.

Fast forward to 2021, where I am about to start my third year as a physical education (formerly known as “gym”) teacher. Back in 2006 with Logan, I couldn’t have known how well this career choice would work. Since the ninth grade I have grown into an extrovert who loves to encourage, mentor, and inspire young people to live active lives of personal improvement. What started as a love for team sports, competition, and a fun job with kids led me on a path to years as a summer camp counsellor, university proctor, multiple internships, university degrees, teaching practicums, schools and relationships.

I love my job, it is a blessing to mentor students. It is a privilege to teach them how to respect themselves and the world around them in order to be positive global citizens. I am thankful to my good friend Logan who helped me realize that being a PE teacher would be a lot of fun. And I am thankful for the support of my wife, family, friends, students, and mentors who have uplifted me along the way. I am happy to have made the progress that I have thus far and I know that I have plenty left to learn on my education journey.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. It was a pleasure spending time with you today.

Peace & Blessings,

– Josiah