When everyone’s spirits are low, you’ll find Kevin Montes with a big smile on his face.
On the outside, Montes seems always to be full of joy. He has a wholesome heart, with the ability to make an introverted person comfortable by cracking jokes and pulling them into the fun.
But beneath the smile is an ongoing journey of vulnerability and understanding his own emotions.
This journey was not always easy. In fact, he had to come to accept it over time.
“Maybe I’ll always have to smile, but I think being vulnerable is not so bad right now, ” Montes said. Now he finds comfort in the vulnerability, learning patience and understanding.
Part of this process has been to confront his anxiety. School has been both a reason for and a solution to this struggle.
“I would get so many anxiety attacks from the hallways, I felt like I needed to get inside a classroom,” Montes said.
Through this process of self-discovery, he’s discovered his own spark: to be the kind of teacher that he himself always needed.
His goal isn’t to solely teach his students the required curriculum. His goal is to help restore a spark in them as well.
¨Education allows for somebody to make a change in their world,” Montes said. ¨Kids don’t come into classrooms with an empty canvas. Kids come into classrooms with paint all over their canvases. It’s what you add with it and maybe you add a little different color.”
Being the oldest child Montes had to learn to stay in touch with his emotions was something he had to learn by himself. He doesn’t want his friends and family to learn or struggle alone as well.
“I know I’m going to remember the mistakes I did, learning from those mistakes, making people happy. The interactions I had, the laughs I had,” Montes said. “Learning to be patient, and be that brother, and I feel like I’m a role model [because] I am a role model.”
Montes wants his family and future students to feel at peace with their emotions too.
“You gotta keep going,” said Montes. “Being vulnerable is good. I cry all the time.”
Montes expresses that life is something everyone should cherish. A big part of doing so is to not spend time trying to make others happy but focus instead on yourself. He often talks to those he loves about taking risks and experiencing life to its fullest.
“It doesn’t matter to prove something to anybody. You don’t have to prove anything to anybody but yourself, because in the end we are going to die,” Montes said. “Reminding yourself what you’re going to do with purpose, with meaning,”
This is the message he wished to build throughout his life within every person he meets, whether that’s creating new moments, experiences or friendships. Montes wants everyone to learn to be empathetic and to always have the hunger to experience life’s new chapter for them.
“Normalize some feelings, and understand why people feel a certain way, putting [yourself] in their shoes, and always be curious, be curious and let that mind go wherever.”
