Now that I have been graduated for a year, I can't help but reminisce on my time spent in high school. I hear a lot from my fellow graduates about how happy they are now that they are out of high school. Don't get me wrong, I don't miss getting up before the sun to go to school for 7 hours and I can honestly say college has been way better than high school. Although I am happy to say that I had teachers that made it worth it.

Thank you to the teachers that taught classes I hated. While I may not have enjoyed the class itself, it really is a teacher that makes the class. In a good or a bad way, a subject can change simply because of who is teaching it. You knew how much I hated the subject and in some cases you made the class less miserable. You gave me motivation to work hard, simply so I wouldn't disappoint you. You guys saved my GPA without even knowing it.

Thank you to the teachers that were hard on me. I may not have realized it at the time, but I needed your harshness. I needed to be pushed to succeed and you knew that. I've never been the person that likes to disappoint others, especially my superiors, and I feel as if a little tough love is exactly what I needed. I needed to be pushed to do my best. I'm sorry for the eye rolls and some things I probably shouldn't have said. I didn't realize what you were doing at the time, but I do now, and I thank you for that.

Thank you to the teachers I could laugh with. It truly meant more to me than you know. I found comfort in the fact that you were a person too, and not just my teacher. I have so many memories of laughing with some of you about small things, about other students (oops) and even about things happening in the world. I'm so grateful to have had you as teachers. You made school enjoyable, and a gave me a sense of relief during stressful times.

Thank you to the teachers I could go to for anything. To the teachers who would stop what they were doing to help me with whatever I needed. Whether it be school work, picking what college I should go to, or what I should do about any situation, I knew I could lean on you. You all helped me in my struggles, and celebrated with me in my achievements. I probably annoyed you all at one point or another, so thanks for putting up with me.

Thank you to the teachers that encouraged me. I tend to doubt myself and my abilities regularly, but you never did . You knew I could do it. You gave me the motivation to be the best person I can be. Again, I never like to disappoint people, and you guys are the ones still in the back of my head that I don't want to disappoint. You probably didn't know it at the time, but you made a bigger impact than you know.

I thought about a lot of different teachers while writing this, and all of you fall into more than one category. As I begin my journey to become a high school teacher, I hope my future students see qualities in me that I learned from you. I hope to be the one that is hard on kids when they need it, but also the one that can laugh with my students and be there for them when needed. You are all wonderful examples of teachers despite how different some of you are. I can't wait to one day make an influence on my students, as you did on me. So a year after my graduation, thank you all. For everything.