A True Story of How I Went from Hating Kindergarten to Aspiring to Be a Kindergarten Teacher (3-Part Series)

[Part 2] What the Hand Reached Out to Me Taught Me

From that day shortly after I transferred,
my image of kindergarten and teachers began to change little by little.

Of course, it didn't all become fun.
Children I didn't know, a classroom I didn't know, games I didn't know.
I felt nervous every day.

But just by having that teacher nearby,
I realized I could think, "Maybe it'll be okay."

When I entered the classroom in the morning, she would welcome me with a smile.
Even when playing, whenever I looked at the teacher, our eyes would often meet, and she would smile at me.
If anything happened, she would notice right away and ask, "What's wrong?"
She was someone who truly saw my little anxieties.

One day, when we were all playing outside,
I couldn't quite bring myself to talk to the other kids in my class, so I watched them intently from a little distance away.
At that moment, the teacher quietly came over to me,
and reached out her hand, saying, "Let's go over together!"

The moment I touched her hand, I felt a warmth spread deep inside my chest.

At my previous school,
the "me who couldn't do things" was always left behind, but
here, even the "clumsy me" was properly seen.

I felt the kindergarten, which had been a "place where I got scolded,"
slowly changing into a "place where I could feel safe."

Before I knew it, I was no longer afraid to go to kindergarten in the morning.
In fact, I was even looking forward to it.

Because that kind teacher was nearby,
because she was always watching over me,
I think my five-year-old world was able to change this much.

↓ Part 3 is here.