When I look back on my greatest days in high school, some of
the memories that fill my mind are the memories I made with my friends under
the Friday night lights, but others are memories that I made in the classroom
that involve a group of women that helped shape me in to the woman I am today.
This group of women were my teachers. Ironically all of them
were either English or History teachers, classes which I did a lot of writing
and exploring the art of words and literature, learning about how it shapes our
society. Ironically enough when I no longer had someone giving me creative
writing assignments I started this blog. My English teachers throughout the
years, helped me discover one of my favorite escapes from the world. (Sorry
that I probably exercise drastic grammatical errors throughout every blog post.
We all know I was never good at commas.) These women went above and beyond
teaching me how to read, and write, and memorize dates, or periods of time.
These women pushed me every day to be my best, to put my best foot forward, and
to be involved inside and outside of the classroom. People will tell you that
in college your professors will not care what struggles you are having, they
will still expect you to perform at your best, and this is true. You cannot
sweet talk yourself into a good grade in college, trust me I tried many times.
Although I had one professor my whole freshman year that I
really connected with, and felt like was a good mentor for me, I will still
never forget the teachers that I had in high school. So here is a little inside
for you, I disliked high school. (But then again only a select few actually
like high school.) The teachers that I had made it bearable, and kept me coming
back every day with an open mind ready to learn something new. So after all
those years of dedication, I thought I would say a little thanks.
To Mrs. Robin Owen:
You were my 8th grade English teacher, I had you
3rd period I believe, or maybe 4th, but I enjoyed your
class so much! I never truly had a favorite subject until I was in your class,
and after I figured out that English was my thing I did so good at it, I now
don’t have to take it anymore. It is actually a little depressing. I don’t
think you ever realized how much of an impact your class made on me, but thank
you for helping me find my niche!
To Mrs. Oretha Ferguson:
You know I loved your class, and you so so much. From the
time I had you for sophomore English until the day I graduated you were my go
to person when I needed some advice. You edited all of my college scholarship
papers, and you spent so much time writing recommendation letters for me. I
will always look up to you, and you will always be one of my favorite teachers
of all time. When I was ever discouraged you never hesitated to open your door
to me for a chit chat. We have had guy talks, friend talks, and educational
talks. You encouraged me every chance you could, and you helped me to see the
best in myself, rather than to focus on my flaws. I used to love writing papers
in your class. I always was so eager to get my paper back, because I knew that
I might not have always gotten the grade I wanted, but my grade would be
justified with a rubric, and a hand written note would be in the margin saying
what I could improve on, in that perfect cursive handwriting that you have. I
never had a doubt in my mind that you cared about me, and every other student
that you had in your class. Thank you Mrs. Ferguson. Thank you for believing in
me, and continuing to believe in me all of these years.
To Ms. Shelly Loewen:
You are just a neat person. You have so much knowledge about
history. Although it is a subject that I never thought I would really enjoy,
you made it entertaining for me. So entertaining in fact that you almost gave
me no choice to switch to AP the following semester. But you knew I could make
a good grade in your class, that I was up for the challenge, and you were
right. I just had to have someone to push me a little. Not only did I work with
you in the classroom, but we spent many hours together outside the classroom as
well. I loved being involved in Student Council. I loved planning homecoming
all of my junior year, it was so stressful, but so much fun. I loved your
class, and I loved our talks, it was hard to say goodbye to you my last day. I
will always remember you and your stage. Thank you for giving me tasks that I
thought I would never be able to accomplish. You taught me how to be more of a
leader, and I will have you to thank for that forever. By the way congrats on
your Master’s Degree in Counseling! You finally made it!!
To Mrs. Courtney Beland:
You are by far the coolest junior English teacher to ever
live. You were always cracking jokes, and you made your class fun. Which for me
is saying a whole lot since it was my first period class my junior year. I will
always be thankful for you and your easy going spirit. You taught me how to get
things done, but have a great time doing it. You also taught me that actually
reading the reading assignment is not always a half bad idea, hence the fact
that one of my favorite books is now The Great Gatsby. I hope that I am as cool
of a mom as you are someday, you have an awesome and beautiful family. Thank
you for giving me some time to laugh during one of the toughest years, course
wise, of my high school career. Junior year would have been a nightmare without
you!
To Ms. Karen Davis:
Senior year AP English. Man your class was a blast, but
definitely not a breeze. You have more knowledge about Literature than I think
any other person I have ever met. You also love grumpy cat, and Thor more than
any other person I have ever met as well. You pushed me to get over my
senioritis and for that I will always thank you. Senior year might be the end
of high school, but it wasn’t the end of education for me, so there was no
sense in turning off my brain. Thank you for spending so many hours cracking
jokes, and stuffing diplomas. Wouldn’t have gotten that special piece of paper
without your help.
To all the other teachers:
Just because you did not get a spotlight, does not mean you
were not just as important. Teachers are a special kind of people, with more
patience in one day than I might have my whole life. Thank you for being
pushers. Thank you for spending the extra time to sponsor a club that occupied
so much of my time. Thank you for sacrificing time with your family to tutor me
a little extra, or put together a test early, just because I needed to take it
earlier than scheduled. Thanks for making a makeup test, instead of giving me a
zero. Thank you for doing everything you could to bump my grade, even if that
meant you had to give me .01 point so that I could actually receive that
borderline A. Thank you for letting me into your life, thank you for letting
get to know your sweet kids. But ultimately, thank you for shaping me into the
woman that I am today, and teaching me the biggest lesson of all, no matter
what the people say, I can do it.
