Dear Past Teachers,

First off, I want to thank you. Thank you for making me enjoy learning. I held on to so many things you taught me because of it. Things I didn't think would interest me, actually did. Being a teacher is hard and you don't always get the recognition that you deserve. Being patient with kids is very difficult. So, there are a few teachers I want to thank. Mr. Koch, Mrs. Spraetz, Mr. Rasmussen, Miss W (you'll always be Miss W to me :)), Mrs. Dresow, Mr., and Ms. Hjelmeland, Mrs. Fenstermacher, Mr. Sand, both Mrs. Peters and Ms. Stein. I appreciate all my teachers but these ones definitely influenced me not only inside, but outside of the classroom too.

1. Mr. Koch-

Thank you for never failing to make me laugh and put me in a better mood during the stressful experience that is high school. You made me enjoy going to school a little bit more every day.

2. Mrs. Spraetz-

Being able to take two classes with you at once was great. You're one of the smartest people I know and you are so intelligent. I hope I am as dedicated to what I do in my future as you are. It easy to tell you love what you do and you love helping students and I admire that so much about you!

3. Mr. Rasmussen-

You made me enjoy a subject I never thought I would, World History. I thought it was just going to be another class I had to get through, but I actually enjoyed it, and the fact that I did well in your class was very rewarding because I thought I would struggle. With World Events, I knew practically nothing about what we learned about and that class helped me a lot because we learned valuable information that I continue to use.

4. Miss W-

You sparked my love for school at the age of 5 years old. I don't remember much from kindergarten besides Benny Bunny. I thought it was so cool to be able to take him home and the fact that he had been home with the other kids too was so fun! I'm so glad that I got you for a kindergarten teacher because I couldn't have had a better start to school.

5. Mrs. Dresow-

My sister talked so highly of having you as a teacher and I couldn't wait to have you as my own. I'll never forget the plays we got to put on and how excited I was to be the teacher in the play about America.

6. Mr. Hjelmeland and Ms. Hjelmeland-

Writing for Middle School Madness was the beginning of my love for writing and getting my work published, so thank you for that. I always loved going to your class and being a part of MSM. Ms. Hjelmeland, thank you for loving to read. Your passion for books made me remember how much I loved reading and that even as a sophomore it was still fun to read a good book. Also, thank you for talking about Fitzwilliam all the time because I love dogs!

7. Mrs. Fenstermacher-

Being able to take a psychology class was so exciting to me because I had always wanted to do so. You had some great and relatable stories (like driving while eating a Chipotle burrito) that were always entertaining. Also, I thought I would absolutely hate economics and you definitely made it bearable. Logging our spending was really helpful too and the project with our futures was one of the most helpful things I ever did in school.

8. Mr. Sand-

I only had you for snap, but you made me enjoy going. I usually hated snap and thought it was a waste of time, but spending that time talking and arguing with you was some of my favorite times from high school. Also, making fun of Jimmy was always a good time.

9. Ms. Stein-

Thank you for making me believe that I was a good writer. I always hated sharing what I had written no matter what it was about, but you grading my papers and me getting good grades on them gave me confidence in my writing. I also never thought I would be good at sentence typing, but I was and actually enjoyed doing it. The jokes/puns you always had on the board were a plus too!

10. Mrs. Peters-

Both of you really. Ansley, I got to know you more because of daycare and I am so glad I got to know your family. Elin and Senja were always able to make me smile and they still do! I miss them a lot since they're getting older and now I'm in college. With school, I didn't think I would enjoy geography, but I really did and doing the country project was one of my favorite school projects I've ever done. Amy, being able to learn Spanish was so fun and the fact that we got to dance in class made it more bearable. I had always wanted to learn another language, but I quickly learned I wasn't the best at it but I do remember a lot of the basics that you taught us and I probably will for a long time to come.

There are definitely more teachers that I can't think of off the top of my head, but I am so glad to have had the teachers I did. Another person I want to thank is Ms. Davis, but I technically never had her as a teacher. However, she was the best coach I could have ever ask for. Going to school in Jordan wasn't as bad as I thought it was at the time because I really did have some great mentors during my first thirteen years of school.