xynith My name is Roxanne B. Herold, 30 years old, born and raised in the Philippines. This is the story of how Teacher Xynith came to be.

Growing up in a household full of American and English chaps has its advantages. You get to get the best of both worlds. But I never thought I could possibly contribute to the world of teaching English to my fellow humans here on Earth. Being able to communicate well in English sometimes gets taken for granted here. Teaching English was never on my bucket list, ever.

Two years ago, though, I moved to Baler, Aurora Province and fell in love with the waves. In short, I started surfing and became an adrenaline junkie. I then decided to teach tourists how to ride the waves. I became a very good surfing teacher, too. So many people from different parts of the planet came to Baler to surf, and I was there to guide them through until last November, when I sat on the sand staring out into the vast ocean that stretched before me. I realized that I had to go back to the city and start getting my life back together.

I arrived a week after my epiphany at the beach and by sheer luck one of my past colleagues from a call center back in 2010 posted a message on our group wall in Facebook. And behold, it was about 51Talk.My heart skipped a beat because the fact about “work from home” really got my attention.

I asked that former colleague to help me get in and a day later, I received my phone call from recruitment. I tried so hard to impress my caller. And it paid off because they said I spoke such good English that I don’t need to do the Skype interview anymore. I was so proud of myself and my husband even jokingly said, “Thank God your mom was smart enough to marry an Englishman.”

Then Orientation Day came. It was a very tough day because I knew all of us in that conference room would be narrowed down to a very select few. I started to doubt myself a bit that day. But I had to be the best in that room. I had to show them I could be a great teacher for 51Talk. And then, from 37 applicants, I was one of the lucky 7 who stayed behind for the final orientation. My heart was exploding with pride. I would not disappoint the company for choosing me, I told myself.

From being a girl who never cared about anybody else but herself to a teacher who takes her job seriously in making sure her students never leave frustrated, I must say 51Talk taught me how to be selfless and kind. And I never expected to have developed so much patience and compassion towards my students. As the weeks went by, I felt that I seemed to not care about how much or how little I was making. All I cared about was how my students would get the most out of their expectations and hard-earned money. I guess it’s not about the money anymore for me. It’s about waking up every day and seeing my students leaving me messages that they have never met a teacher like me before. That they want to talk to me all the time after that first lesson we had. That I make them feel so relaxed and comfortable during lessons. These alone make my world go round. No money can ever compare to how I now feel.

Now, I cannot imagine life not being able to teach. You see, being a teacher doesn’t mean you only get to teach your students what you know … It’s also what you learn from them when you least expect it.

* To date, 51Talk has over 4,000 online ESL teachers all over the Philippines. To know how to be a Home-Based e-Educator, visit 51Talk.com/ph.