MIDLAND, Texas — Teaching is Shylah Cutbirth's passion.
"What I kept thinking about is what am I most happy doing and I know that it's just with the kids," Cutbirth said.
Despite her love for the classroom, her health was not in a good place.
"I've gotten to where I can't climb stairs anymore, I can't get up off the ground by myself at all, I can't even get up off a regular chair by myself," Cutbirth said. "I just started realizing teaching in person just got really hard for me and physically I would just be exhausted every single day. I fall very easily and so I fell more frequently at school."
Shylah lives with muscular dystrophy. She was diagnosed when she was 12.
Because of it, she made the tough decision to leave.
Then, the pandemic hit and virtual learning became the new normal.
Shylah looked for and applied to several online teaching jobs.
She saw this as her opportunity to jump back in.
She started her job with Lone Star Online Academy four months ago.
She said the pandemic has been a blessing in disguise.
"Now that I'm being able to teach from home, I get the joy of being able to do what I love and to be with the kids and to love on them and to teach them, but I'm also in the comfort of my own home," Cutbirth said.
She gets the best of both worlds, keeping her health in check, as well as her teaching.
She's teaching who she values most: her kids.