Thank you for...

1. Always letting me cry in your classroom when another teacher made me cry.

2. Forcing me to learn study skills. Now that I'm in college and on my own, it's apparent some of my current classmates weren't as lucky as I am.

3. Bringing in tissues for us on test days because at the time, we thought your tests were impossible.

4. Always writing me late passes for classes I didn't want to go to.

5. Letting me hang out in your classroom before and after school.

6. Always letting me store my books and binders in your room because my locker was in a wildly inconvenient place.

7. Being so passionate about what you teach and your students that it helped me find my passion.

8. Always asking about my life...

9. ...and giving me any life advice you could possibly give.

10. Pushing me when I didn't want to be pushed just to prepare me for college.

11. Showing me how to be an amazing teacher.

12. Letting me eat both snacks and entire meals during class.

13. Letting my friends and me go off campus for food when we weren't supposed to and joking about it when we came back.

14. Not being afraid to have a sense of humor and never hesitating to joke around with your students.

15. Being willing to build honest relationships with your students.

16. Kicking my ass all semester in a class and forcing my mind to work in ways that I never thought possible.

17. Helping me pass all of my AP exams...

18. ...but also teaching me so much beyond an exam booklet.

19. Being willing to show up before first period just to give extra help sessions.

20. Coming to all sporting events (even if we had to ask first).

21. Letting us ruin your off periods by eating lunch in your room just to we didn't have to eat in the cafeteria.

22. Letting an entire class of students bond over breakfast every Friday morning.

23. Pushing me so hardcore towards Christ.

24. Unforgettable Secret Santa gifts.

25. Being willing to put in hours in and outside of school to help develop us, our character, and our faith.

26. Putting forth your own money towards resources to help students and being happy while doing it.

27. Being selfless and always giving your students all you possibly can.

28. For supporting me, even now that I'm in college.

29. Never letting me give up on school and on my grades.

30. Putting up with hundreds of teenagers who really don't want to sit in your classroom for very little money, but still loving every minute of it.

31. Pushing me to be the best version of myself I could possibly be.

I'm not gonna lie, I was extremely fortunate in terms of high school. It seems like my teachers were a unique breed in the fact that they actually put forth an effort to connect with their students. In the four years I spent in high school, I grew in ways that are truly unimaginable. With my teachers, there were so many laughs and tears and just an overwhelming sense of joy. I loved high school because I had teachers who literally rocked.

Two of the teachers who had the biggest impact on my life never even taught me in a classroom. Even now, they continue to pour into me with love and wisdom that I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else. My senior year, I had a teacher who was so passionate about Literature that it inspired me to major in Secondary Education with a concentration in English just so I could give kids the same experience he gave me.

I am so thankful for the wonderful men and women who helped shape me into who I am today and they all hold such a big place in my heart to the point where two years later, I'm still thinking about it and reminiscing with friends because our teachers changed our lives.