To my teachers who were more than “teachers”,

This is for the teachers who were counselors, life coaches, book reviewers. For the teachers who opened their classrooms and offices during lunch periods and planning hours when I needed to run something by them, or sometimes just to tell them a joke I found funny. (Similarly, this is for the teachers who actually laugh when I tell comma jokes).

When in the midst of writing essays for the colleges I was applying to, one of the prompts stuck out in my mind, “Who inspires you in life, and why?” Sure, I could write for hours about either of my parents, or J.K. Rowling, or Audrey Hepburn, but at the end of the day, I want to be a teacher. The reason I want to be a teacher, is because I've seen firsthand how much my life has been changed by amazing teachers.

To the teacher I never officially had, but welcomed me into his class with open arms, I say thank you. When I had questions about senior year, or books, or college, he was more than happy to schedule an appointment with me, and took all the time in the world to answer any questions I had (and some I didn't know I had). I've never met someone where it was crucial to have a handy dictionary near by during a conversation, but I also never met a teacher who has challenged me to set the highest goals for myself, and then to take it a step farther, as much as he has.

To the teacher who not only runs her classroom with an iron fist, but keeps the newspaper afloat, I say, “How?” Here is a teacher who has one goal in mind: to educate the students. She not only meets that goal, she surpasses that everyday. She teaches us about conjunctions and sentence structure, and she teaches us about life. She was one of the first female teachers in a largely male dominated division, and she shows me everyday how you can show someone a passion they didn't know they had by giving them a notebook and a pencil.

To the teacher who I'm probably going to get coffee with when I graduate, I'm telling you, you're the best. She's younger than a huge percentage of the teachers in our school and is quickly becoming one of the most qualified. She handles the most difficult situations with the most grace of anyone I know. She's funny and smart, and I've yet to meet a student who doesn't like her. We can talk about movies, or she listens to me talk about makeup, or we talk about getting my Ph.D. She's the exact kind of teacher I want to be, and I'm pretty sure I've told her I've got my eye on her job when she retires.

Finally, this is a thank you to the teachers who mean the world to me that I don't have time to write about. The teacher who lets us brew tea in class, the teacher who lets us meditate, the teacher who writes down students birthdays and plays music when they walk into class. Thank you for inspiring me, and for everyone else who's lives you've made just even a little bit brighter.