I'm the type of student that works hard and puts more than enough effort into my schoolwork; however, I start to lack both of those qualities when the professor I have isn't good at teaching or is just a sucky person.

I fully understand that it sucks to have to get up super early in the morning and have to go and stand in front of 20 or so kids—who really don't want to be there— and talk for minutes on end about a subject they've grown to hate.

But, they were once in college and know exactly what it's like. It may have been over 50 years ago, but they still understand that classes can be boring.

Professors also need to understand that they can't approach students that way and expect their class to be excited about learning. We may be old enough to make our own decisions, but our minds are still forming and professors have responsibilities to help shape them.

A perfect example I have for my professors to follow surprisingly comes from my favorite teacher in high school. He was my newspaper teacher sophomore year and, while I hadn't taken his class before, I had heard about what an awesome teacher he was which subconsciously gave him my respect.

He knew that to most of his students the material he would be covering is considered "boring," so he always tried to include funny stories about his life that related back to the concepts. This was perfect to me because I happened to love the material, and I also got to hear different stories about his life that showed me a lot. He has been through some of the toughest situations I could ever imagine, yet he remained so positive about his life, and it's safe to say that I took that to heart.

As the next few years of high school went by, we grew closer and he became a mentor to me. Everyone knows about how I struggle with boys, but no one knows it better than him. He would let me sit in his classroom and talk for—literally— 45 minutes about all of the problems in my life, and miraculously, he would have the perfect advice to give me.

After I had graduated high school, he decided to stop by my house and meet my family and talk with me for a little bit. There were many other parties that day, but somehow he chose to come to mine. I won't ever forget that.

While it is difficult to have to try and get students excited about a difficult subject, it isn't impossible. Students love to learn (whether they think so or not) and have fun, as long as their professor loves their job just as much as college students love taking naps and eating pizza.

To my newspaper teacher: while you have received many thank-you's from me, I hope this one stands out just a little bit more. Thank you for showing me exactly what a real teacher should be.