# data[].attributes.body
My favorite band is called Hillsong United. This is one of my many favorite songs. I like music that is positive and uplifting. I use music to calm me down or distract me from stress. I often listen to music when I need to work. Later in the year, when we study poetry, you will have the opportunity to share your favorite song too!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Prince of Peace Official Lyric Video - Hillsong UNITED

# data[].attributes.body
You've Got Mail is about a woman, Kathleen Kelly. She owns a book shop in New York when a the big bad Fox Books (think of Barnes and Noble) move in right next door forcing her to close her shop. All the while she meets a man on the internet and falls in love. It turns out the man is Joe Fox (the person who owns the book store that is forcing her to close!) #greatmovie

# data[].attributes.body
I wish I was as smart as him!

# data[].attributes.body
This is a picture of ALL my favorite things. Jesus, my husband and coffee! I'm a little obsessed with coffee. Starbucks is my favorite place. I love the smell!

# data[].attributes.body
I have been married to my wonderful husband for three years. We have an 11 year old son, Asiel (my step-son). He just started the 6th grade in PSJA and I'm kind of freaking out for him. My husband and I are both christians who believe strongly in our faith. We attend and serve at Palm Valley and our favorite thing to do is read and study the bible.

# data[].attributes.body
In 2012, Jesus captured my heart. I had been living in the valley for two years. I just finished my two year agreement with Teach for America, and I could decide to stay or to go elsewhere. Little did I know God had it all set out for me already. Upon being hired, TFA connected me with another teacher that was hired at the same school; she needed a roommate. She was a bit pickier than me, so I allowed her to make the arrangements for where we were to live for the year. She chose a set of apartments right next to a church that would end up saving my last. Every Sunday, I would make up to the bass of the Palm Valley. As if Jesus was setting his worship as my alarm clock. It didn’t convince me right away, but as he is always faithful….

I was saved, baptized and off to my first mission trip that summer. We went to stay for two weeks at Mercy International Orphanage in Thailand. An experience I would never forget.

The photo here is of me in Costa Rica, at the Genesis Day Center for children. The boy in this picture is Armando. The biggest smile on the biggest heart. From the second I stepped out of the van, he saw me and yelled “Amiga!” We were inseparable for every day I went. Armando taught how the Joy of the Lord is the only treasure that can make you feel rich. He was the poorest of poor and you would have never known it by his smile.

# data[].attributes.body
This photo sums up my favorite things all in one: cats, kids, teaching, and meeting goals. It was taken four years ago. As a campus, we have a Reading Initiative called Word Masters. For some particular reason, this class was a bit harder to motivate in all areas, even more so with reading. I found myself being more theatric within my mini-lessons; inventing crazy stories about my cat that the students just ate up. They loved her as much as I did! It was then that one of my hardest-to-reach boys said. “You should bring her, miss; I’d read for that!” That idea became a wildfire in my classroom. They are all cheering and chanting. “Mia. Mia. Mia!” I just had to agree… with a catch! I promised if 100% of my students would become Word Masters, Mia would have to come to the celebration.

You should have seen all my boys motivating each other and holding each other accountable for reading and testing just to meet our goal. On the last day, the last student came into class saying, “Today is the day, I just need one more book and I finished it on the bus.” We all stood around him as he took the test on our class computer. He scored a hundred but didn’t even smile. He was anxious to refresh his screen to see his total words. 75,000 words! He screamed so loud, I gasped even though I was expecting it. The entire class cheered for him then started cheering for us. We accomplished our goal.

Permission to allow a cat to come to school wasn’t easy, but it was a lot easier than trying to get Mia in a collared leash; that's for sure! The day she came to school was so much fun. It took a while for her to get comfortable, but she warmed up to all the smells. Some students cried because she was so beautiful.

Meeting our goals opened up doors for some. All that reading it took to become a word master made some reluctant boys realize they, too, are good readers and kept reading because they found out they enjoyed it! That was truly the best gift.

# data[].attributes.body
Graduation Day, another huge milestone. I was the first to graduate high school in my family, and now I am the first to graduate college. My first experience attending the University of North Texas was learning how diverse the world was. In my high school, we were 99% hispanic, just a few handful of classmates were white, and there was only one African American student in the whole school. I was astounded! I never grew to appreciate my culture. It was not impressive to know or speak Spanish. Going to UNT was learning about myself and my culture as much as it was about learning about others. My freshman year, I rushed Sigma Lambda Gamma, a latina based multicultural sorority. If it wasn’t for my sisters, and the Multicultural Center’s community, I don't think I would have had the support to finish. I graduated with the Bachelor’s of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. I was going to be a teacher!

# data[].attributes.body
Like a rose in the concrete, a snow picture in the middle of Rio Grande Valley is just as symbolic to my life when this photo was taken. It was the December of my senior year. I had just left my family and was welcomed into my mentor’s home. It was the very first time since I was nine that I felt safe, I felt loved. It was the first time in a long time that I was able to think of and for myself. I wasn’t very close to God here, but even then I felt snow in such a hard time of my life as God saying, “You’re going to be okay.” I thought, If God can make it snow in a desert, He can certainly handle my life.

Senior life was so challenging. Back home, I never stopped to think about what life would be after highschool. I was going to school to eat, working to pay bills. It was one pay check to another paycheck with no look to the future. I remember that snow day so vividly, I had three college applications printed out laying on the desk in my room. I was so scared; not that I wouldn’t get accepted. I was actually scared to get accepted. As independent as I was, I knew moving away was a big deal. How would I pay for college? How would I even get there? I had no car, no money, no parents. Utterly alone. But then, it snowed and as the snowflakes collected on my hand I just cried. God was God. Somewhere up in heaven, he opened the vault for the snow to fall down, and I knew he would open the door for me.

# data[].attributes.body
You would think it is hard to sum up your childhood in twenty-two seconds, but when all you have is seven photos, it gets easier. I always say my childhood was perfect until it wasn’t. I remember growing up with nightly dinners, weekend adventures, holiday vacations, and summers in Mexico. However, that all stopped at the age of nine. Like so many homes, it was broken because of divorce. And as much as my dad tried to keep his role in my life, it was just too hard for my mother. You can describe me as Daddy’s Little Girl, so not being able to see him was really hard. My mother slowly became sick, suffering from depression. She was in and out of hospitals. There is a lot I don’t remember, or choose not to.

I left home when I was seventeen, the summer before my senior year of highschool. Home life was too much to take and being that I supported both my mom and brother, I thought it was easier for me to leave. Sometimes, you have to put yourself first.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Animoto's video maker turns your photos and video clips into professional videos in minutes. Fast and shockingly simple - we make video creation easy.

# data[].attributes.body
Hello, and welcome to my Padlet. Allow me to thoroughly introduce yourself. My name is Lauralee Lopez, formerly known as Miss Espinosa. I proudly go by Mrs Lopez now. I’ll tell you all about that later. I am an 8th grade RLA teacher at B. L. Gray Jr. High. We are located in the most southern part of Mission, Texas, a border town. If you think San Antonio is South Texas.. You are sorely mistaken. There is about four more hours and two hundred and fifty miles more south than that! To paint the picture, if I miss my exit for work, I’m in line at the International Bridge. Yikes, I know. I had a full blown heart attack on the day of my interview when I made that mistake for the first time. That could be another story, too.

This is my third year teaching Middle School. Before coming to BL Gray, I taught elementary for nine years. I came to the Rio Grande Valley after graduation with Teach for America. If it wasn’t for their application process, I don’t think I would have reflected on my vision as a teacher. It was through my TFA experience I learned my responsibility to my community. See, I grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, but being poor and always without, made me very eager to “get out” and explore the world. Graduating from the University of North Texas was that accomplishment for me. Yet, TFA made me realize the duty I had to all the other Lauralee’s in the valley. This was the deciding factor to move back and partner with IDEA Public Schools.

I share my story very openly with my students. They need to know that someone like them, with determination, and the help of the community can accomplish their goals. Success is only defined by the desires of our mind. Although some would see a teacher’s salary and say that I am not there yet. I would argue that it is not their right to evaluate my dreams. It’s mine, and I’m right where I want to be.