To my favorite teacher,

Hey! I really miss seeing you every day! Life is a lot different now that I'm off at college and it makes me really miss BHS (thought I'd never say that). You're really awesome and I just wanted to show a bit of appreciation to you for all you have done for me.

First of all, thank you for opening up your classroom to me. Your room wasn’t like any other room to me. It was a safe place. It was a place I could run when I needed someone to vent to, a place I could cry when days got hard, or a place I could escape to when I needed to get away from my boring classes for a few minutes (or hours). ;) Thank you for the memories made in room 22. These are times I will never forget.

Secondly, thanks for not always being the "nice guy". Thanks for telling me the truth even when it's not what I wanted to hear. Thanks for pushing me to be my very best and for saying no for the eighth time that week when I ask to go to the library or sit outside instead of staying in class. (We both know this happened EVERY week.) Thanks for always letting me know when it was time to get my crap together and for holding me to a higher standard when you knew I wasn’t giving my best.

Lastly, thank you for the endless amount of motivation and confidence you had in me. Thank you for all the support when it came to deciding between colleges. Thank you for being there for me when I was told surgery would keep me from playing the sport I love my senior year and for showing me that it is okay to not be strong sometimes. Thank you for always asking if I was okay. You could always tell when I wasn’t having a good day and you would always try your hardest to put a smile on my face. Thank you for calling and for still providing motivation to me now that I’m at college. Thanks for reminding me how strong I am and that all my hard work is going to pay off one day.

Now that I’m off at college and I don’t get to see you every day, it makes me appreciate all of our memories together even more. I can’t run to your room when I need you to write me a parking lot pass. I can’t call you to ask you to come open the door when I get locked out of school for the fourth time that day, or run to you to wash my brand new white shirt because I spilled coffee all over myself walking into school. But I will hold onto these memories forever because they remind me of our times together and how much our friendship has grown since the beginning.

You have inspired me to do great things with my life, and I continue to strive for greatness every day. Even to this day you are still encouraging me and giving me advice during college through our few phone calls (or Bitmoji conversations). You are a person I can always count on to know what to say. Thanks again for making such an impact in my life and for always being a great friend! I love you!

Love,

Your former student ‘16