If you were blessed enough to have the same teacher for 7 years in a row, it's a rare blessing. I had the same gym teacher from kindergarten to 6th grade and he was the greatest teacher I have ever had. He taught more valuable life lessons than any classroom ever did. He was a gym teacher, but the lessons he taught go far beyond the gymnasium floor. This is my letter to him.

Dear Teacher,

You may not realize how much you impacted my life, but the lessons you taught me are some of the greatest lessons I have ever learned and that I continue to walk with every day of my life, even in college and after all of these years.

I was never a very athletic kid. I got 2nd or 3rd place in the half mile in 2nd grade and that was about it. The only track and field event I ever excelled in was the tire race. I worked hard in gym class during track and field week to earn the National award and I did, just three times out of six. I hated gym class and I hated that I wasn't athletic. So why, you ask, were you my greatest teacher?

You taught us the value of never giving up and believing in ourselves. You taught small and simple lessons, but still unforgettable lessons. Whenever I think of 4 times 4 I think of gym class and counting the yarn balls. If I hear a palindrome, the first one that comes to mind is your name. You taught us "if you learn it you'll never forget it", and ironically I must've learned that well because I never forgot you saying that.

You also taught the big life lessons. I can remember in class, if we were lazy and unmotivated, you would sit us down and show us pictures of people in the paraolympics or people without arms or legs who went on to become extremely successful and overcome their obstacles. One day in class, some kids were making fun of the special needs kid in our class because he couldn't run like the rest of us. You got so angry that you spent the rest of the class teaching us how to be respectful to everyone. We all hated the dress code- white socks, sneakers, no jeans, t shirt. Yet, it taught us self respect and discipline. If we dressed properly for every class, we got the sneaker award at the end of the year. My all time favorite quote hung right above the far end of the gym on a banner- "you never know what you can do until you try". I still live by this saying everyday. I remember being one pull up away from a National award and you made me come in every single morning for a week until I finally got it. I wanted to give up, but you refused to let me. To this day, I'm so grateful I got that National my last year at that school.

I'll be honest, gym class was not my favorite class. It was a bother, especially track and field week. But it was so valuable. I learned more in that class than any other class in my 15 years of school and counting. I've taken college psych, sociology, math, public speaking and everything, but I have yet to find a class that has taught me as much as your class. I was lucky, I came from a good family life, but for some kids at that school, your valuable lessons were all they had. You may have not made a difference in all their lives, but I know one life you've impacted. You will forever be the best teacher I have ever had.

Most teachers just do the best they can and hope they can at least impact some students. You succeeded. And I know it was a lot more students than just me. They dedicated the gym to you and when I went to visit it a few years back, it wasn't the same. The walls were bleak with no posters and you moved on to retirement. I'm so grateful I had you as a teacher for my whole elementary career. I might not have become the basketball player you wanted me to, but I've become something else- I've become a person who doesn't give up, who fights for what I want, you respects myself and others, and one who does what I never knew I could do until I tried. That's because of you. So all I can say is thank you, thank you for being so much more than just my gym teacher, but for being my life teacher.

Your student