As I sit here typing this letter, I am mind blown, and a bit embarrassed, that I have not done this earlier. Three, well, almost three years of college have gone by, and it is because of your standards and belief in me, and the thousands of other students you’ve had and will have, that I’ve been successful.

Dear Teachers,

I cannot thank you enough. When I say thank you, I don’t mean a light “Thanks for not giving me a test the day after break” sort of thank you, but a thank you pulled from the very bottom of my heart. As I went through elementary, middle, and high school, I learned how each of you brought different styles of teaching to the table, all of which taught me SO much. Here’s the thing: I learned A LOT academically, from integrations, and proper sentence structure, to how gene mutations are inherited through DNA, but I learned even greater lessons from you. I learned how to become a better student and person. You taught me to value hard work, and that grades are not given, but earned - as is essentially everything in life. Yes, I complained often about all of the essays, labs, and readings that you would assign, which is deeply missed now that I’m getting triple the amount of work in college, might I add, but I’m grateful you did this. You didn’t need to assign us the work, which thus meant you had more to do because you had to grade it, but you knew it would prepare us for our future. This work also taught me that learning how to solve a trig function, or writing a paper on The Great Gatsby, wasn’t what it was all about - it was about learning how to truly think. As adults, we have daily trials and tribulations to work through. If I could solve a quadratic equation by breaking down the problem, then I could try to break down even bigger problems in my own life, ultimately solving those too.

You helped to shape me into a successful student because of your support and belief in me to reach to higher standards and dig deep within myself to come out on top. Most of the hours of my days were spent in and out of school, with you. You took this time to not only get to know me as a student, having academic conversations, but also to know me as a person. You saw me as more than a number, something that I took for granted. This support and compassion did not waver during the bad times, either. If I was struggling, you sacrificed your time and energy to help me until I succeeded. Thank you for spending hours with me to ensure that I would understand the lesson, even though I know you wanted to go home and see your family. When I didn't understand what you were talking about, you tried different methods until I understood - and you wanted to make sure I positively, absolutely comprehended what was going on. Most of the time, we don't acknowledge that you have a life of your own. When we stop and take the time to realize just how much time you devote to our futures, and us, we should thank you. We should thank you every day that we come to school, and for a long time after that.

The lessons that you have taught me, both big and small, will stay with me for the rest of my life. They say that high school is important, that what you learn there will always be with you. I suppose I never really understood how true this is until after I graduated.

I hope that you haven't been meticulously correcting my sentence structure throughout this letter. Then again, knowing you... You have. That's just another part of you that makes you great. Thanks again for everything that you do!

Sincerely,

Your Forever-Grateful Student