It is an age old question that I use to ask my own teachers. The beauty of this question is how attentive the student appears and the audience. I typically answer this question about 3-5 times every year. Yet, I have answered it differently about 21-35 times or more. The constant is every answer is unpredictable.
I wanted to be a teacher because every day is unpredictable. I am in control of influencing the lives of 28-34 students in 55 minutes for 183 days times 6 per year. And my students have the power to influence and challenge me. Every day is a blank canvas that allows me to leave a thumbprint. At the end of 183 days I am expected to have a product, and in years down the road, I expect to see a masterpiece equivalent to the images of Da Vinci or timeless work of Plato. This is why I am a teacher- I have the opportunity to influence the future, whether on a grand scale or micro. I believe every teacher has the power to do that, but that is what drives me to wake up the next day and do it again.