Since the end of my freshman year at Stanford, my trajectory has been influenced heavily by my passion for education. From the first class period in my PWR 2 class, The Rhetoric of Art and Commerce, I knew that I was in a space to explore my intellectual interests as they related to the question, "What is art?" However, I soon realized that I was much more interested in the question, "What defines an artist?" My work as an educator and my study of what makes truly effective teachers constantly refined my notions of truly effective teachers, and whether or not teaching should be considered a profession or a craft. Through the class I also became aware of the mythological significance of the starving artist, and decided to focus my own work on a dire situation faced by those who choose to become educators: the lack of adequate recognition and compensation for those members of our society who selflessly serve to educate our youth.