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What working with children taught me about life and listening.
I don’t think anyone really prepares you for what it feels like to be responsible, let alone for little hearts and growing minds. I walked into the job thinking I was there to teach—to show up, lead with intention, guide behavior, model maturity. But what I didn’t expect was how much I’d learn in return. Not from a manual or a supervisor but from the very kids I was supposed to be teaching.
Something is humbling about being around children every day. They don’t care about your title, your stress, or the list of things you’re trying to manage. They care about whether you’re present. Whether you’re real with them. Whether you notice the things they don’t have the words to say.
In trying to manage their outbursts, I had to face my own temper. In watching them cry over things that seemed small, I started realizing how often I dismissed my own feelings. They don’t hold back the way adults do. If they’re happy, you know it. If they’re hurt, you know it. They feel it all and move through it without shame. That kind of honesty makes you look at yourself differently.
I used to think patience was about waiting calmly. But working with kids taught me that patience is about presence. It’s about showing up again and again, even when you’re drained. Even when the day is long and loud and overwhelming, it’s about being able to hold space—for their emotions and for your own.
When I was hired to work with kids, I was nervous that I was not going to reach them or that they wouldn’t respond to me. There were days I felt completely unqualified. Days when I didn’t have the answers. Days when I showed up with my own emotions sitting just beneath the surface, trying not to let them show. But kids have a way of sensing things. They may not always say it, but they feel it. And sometimes, the only thing I could do was sit next to them, breathe, and just exist in the same moment.
What I learned is that you don’t need to have everything figured out to be impactful. You don’t need to be perfect to be trusted. Sometimes just being consistent, being kind, being human—is what matters most.
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Kids are beautifully unfiltered. They’ll test you, love you, ignore you, then hug you like none of it happened. And somewhere in all that chaos, you start realizing the kind of adult you are or the kind of adult you’re still becoming.
I thought I was walking into shape, young lives. But the truth is, these little humans were shaping me—teaching me how to slow down, how to speak more gently, how to let go, how to feel without apologizing. Although at some point everyone was a kid, you can sometimes lose perspective when you’re hardened by the world or going through the motions of life.
So no, I don’t have a perfect story, but what I do have are real memories, real growth, and real gratitude. For every meltdown that taught me patience, every laugh that reminded me of joy, and every moment I realized that being the “teacher” doesn’t mean you stop learning.
Kyrah Page is currently a student at Lincoln University. She is also the CEO and founder of her own brand called “Keepin’ It Kultured.” Where she combines art with activism to empower, inspire and educate the Black community. She advocates for change, promotes black positivity, and addresses controversial issues. Kyrah is many things but most importantly she is an activist.
