I am Azara, a 21 year old female doing her B.Ed, majoring in English (HL) and History at the University of Johannesburg. Being in my third year, I have realized a lot about myself. I believe teaching is more than just what happens in the classroom but also, what you take with you into everyday life outside of the classroom. My teaching philosophy lies in the basis of individuality. Each student comes with their own set of skills and manners of learning, there is no method or strategy which is set in stone as each student learns in ways they best grasp what is taught. A teacher is merely a bridge to connect what they know to what they could know. This involves using real life experience and manipulating it into classroom contexts. A classroom should not feel like a prison sentence, but rather, a safe and comforting place grounded in ethics and moral principle where growth occurs, both for the students as well as the teachers. Feedback from students is just as important as feedback given to students and harnessing the fact that students are teachers too in their own right. My passion for teaching stems from my belief that each individual has their own potential and sometimes all they need is a little push into realizing and finding it. Sometimes patience and kindness is all anybody really needs to find their truest form of self. My mother said something to me in my formative years which stuck with me: “You cannot wake up knowing you are born to be something, life has a way of showing you differently, instead, its knowing who you are and unlocking the truest potential of yourself which becomes the yellow brick road to what you could become and the littlest steps in ensuring you become it which makes all the difference. A teacher is that key and sometimes the yellow brick road itself.” I wish to be the yellow brick road to my students, and if I am unable to, I wish to be the key at the very least by helping them realize and develop themselves, if not at the very least helping them develop a love for English or History.