As most of you know, I'm starting my sophomore year at Mississippi State University and thanks to my hometown of Dyersburg, TN, I'm starting on the right foot. Most people associate Dyersburg with being a super small town where everyone knows everyone and everyone's business. They can't wait to leave and never look back. I was one of those people more than I would like to admit, but now I can see that I wouldn't be where I am without it. Dyersburg, as a town, and the people in it shaped me in more ways than they know. Queue the Jimmy Fallon thank you notes.
Thank you, Mom and Dad, for raising me right. Thank you for teaching me that life is what I make it, and I will reap what I sow. Thank you for showing me what it means to have a good work ethic and why it's important. Thank you for teaching me to respect people around me (because apparently, some people were never so lucky). Thank you for letting me be creative and express myself in different ways every time I turned around. I know combining me and Pinterest was probably your worst nightmare, but thanks for letting me try a little bit of everything. Thank you for supporting me in all I do and pushing me to be the best version of myself, even when I don't want to do it. Y'all are the best.
Thank you, Dyersburg City Schools, for teaching me more than I ever realized. I'm sorry for bad mouthing you as much as I did. You really aren't that bad, I pinky promise. You prepared me for college in more ways than I can count. The teachers there are second to none, but there are a few I need to thank individually.
Mrs. Cross and Mrs. Alley, when I think of middle school there are few memories that don't include one of you. Y'all pushed us while making learning fun. I did learn a lot in your classes, but most of it wasn't what you would find in a textbook. I could make an entire textbook with all the life lessons I learned from the two of you. Both of you loved your job, and it showed. Your passion was obvious to every student you ever had. Y'all may not teach in a classroom anymore, but you continue to teach your students and even adults what it means to play the cards you're dealt and inspire everyone around you.
Mr. Durbin, I really didn't know if I would like you when I took your class. You see, I'm not exactly a morning person, but somehow I got to your class 3 days a week at 7 AM. That says something in itself. It also says something that on top of everything you do for our school system and community, you would sacrifice even more of your time to teach a group of high schoolers about the world around them. You opened my eyes immensely in that class. Being able to learn from you was truly an honor. Thank you for all that you do.
Ah Mrs. E, you are my spirit animal. I want to love my future job as much as you love yours. Thank you for being your spunky self. Thank you for teaching me to love literature and writing. I probably have you to thank for this little gig I have going on here. All those practice essays and grammar lessons are coming in handy. Senior year would not have been the same without you. Thank you for being our biggest supporter. Anyone who has taken your class is a better person for it.
Dyersburg is a great place. If you would've asked me a few years ago, you probably wouldn't have gotten that answer, but the longer I'm away, the more I appreciate it. El Patio is the holy grail. Not even Starbucks lives up to Java. Don't even get me started on the various parking lots around town. No, I'm not in Dyersburg anymore, but my roots are there forever. You rock Dyersburg. Don't let anyone ever tell you any different.
