To my teachers from Freshman year:

Thanks for how strict you were. Coming out of a private school where I didn't have to study or barely do any homework to receive an A, I sincerely appreciate it. I'm glad you often stressed that school was important. If you wouldn't have told me how important my grades are I definitely would've started slacking since Freshman year was so easy and everyone has the same homework.

To my teachers from Sophomore year:

I'm sorry you almost had to give me failing grades. I'm sorry that I still thought I could let things slide until the last minute. I'm sorry I did bad on my midterms. This was my worst year. Since our classes started to scatter and we didn't all have the homework I realized we don't have the same struggles. I thought that my struggles were more important than my grades but I quickly resented that. Although my grades slightly plummeted the first semester, they came back up the second semester. I realized that ultimately I'm just another student of yours and that I just needed to hang in there.

To my teachers from Junior year:

I got senioritis bad even though I wasn't a senior yet. I thought that nothing I did mattered and I dreaded coming to class. I'm sorry I gave up. I'm sorry my effort bottomed out. I'm sorry I fell asleep in class almost every week. This was a year of not getting enough sleep and realizing what I wanted to do after I was out of high school. Once I found out that what I wanted to do wasn't being taught in school I gave up. I thought that other knowledge was completely unimportant and irrelevant. That's why I gave up. I still maintained good grades in most classes and passed both of my first AP tests. Thank you for preparing me for learning things that may not have anything to do with my career but are still important. This was a real year of learning.

To my teachers from my Senior year in the first semester:

The year just started. I have a clean slate. I'm really trying this year and I want you to know that. I am trying to put in as much effort as I can. I know that this year will still be rough because they always are. I'm going to hit a low point, but I want you to know that this will be my highest low point. I've found the motivation to get good grades. I really want to succeed. I really want to learn. I'm excited to see where I can get. I'm hungry for success academically. I do still need to be pushed, thanks for keeping me on my toes.

To my teachers from my Senior year in the second semester:

I haven't met all of you yet, but some I have. I want you to know that I don't intend on giving up because there's only so many days until graduation. Sure, graduation is a really big thing. It's a huge accomplishment, but really, there are about 350 other students that are going to graduate alongside me. We're all going to graduate, but I guarantee you that there is only a hand full of students who will make those last few weeks count. I want to be one of them. Please push me to succeed, but please don't push me to a breaking point. I've worked myself up from my breaking point Sophomore year and I don't want to throw my work away. I don't like to waste time so I don't want to waste yours.

Here's to a grand finale of my four years of grades, struggles, meeting hundereds of new people, getting out of my comfort zone, and realizing what I really want. Here's to making the last four years worth my time.

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