If you really think about it, we spend an immense amount of our lives with our teachers. They are an essential part of our upbringing for years, from kindergarten all the way through to high school and even into college.

From kindergarten through senior year of high school, most people see their teachers five days a week for an average of six hours a day, for about six months out of the whole year.

Teachers are a major part of our lives, whether we know it or not.

Let's just start off with the basics. Teachers are the ones who help us reach academic success. They are the ones who teach us how to count to ten and how to spell. Without this foundation of learning, we would not be able to read or write.

These tasks seem minimal and like "anyone can do it," but they really aren't. Teaching, especially young children, is not always the easiest thing. You need to get a degree and experience training after training to be able to teach children.

You may laugh at the education majors who are cutting construction paper while you're doing Calc 2, but they will be the ones teaching your children and setting them up for future success. I would show some more respect if I were you.

Even the ones you didn't think you'd appreciate at the time, always stay with you.

Even the teachers I did not like that much or just didn't have a close relationship with still taught me something. There are days when I will be in my college lectures remembering what my old English teacher would nag on about to the class. I didn't want to admit it, but my teacher's nagging that I once thought was so annoying actually helped me later on in life. We might not appreciate them at the moment but later on, we will owe them a huge thank you.

Don't even start me on the "Why would you want to be a teacher?"

Bull****.

It could be a stranger, family member, or peer. There is always such a negative attitude towards teaching as a profession. I have been told so many times that "you should be a teacher" or "you would be good at teaching." Then that statement is followed by, "But I would try something else first," or "But that doesn't pay well, so maybe not."

Newsflash Susan, people normally pick careers because they enjoy it.

Money isn't be-all-end-all for most people, and if it is, then that's their choice. Teachers work so damn hard, especially those that go above and beyond. A salary should not determine a person's career choice as good or bad.

Teachers' words stay with you whether you know it or not.

A relationship with a teacher can go beyond history tests and geometry notes. The teachers who have been a part of my life have done so much more than teach me. Some of my past teachers have been such amazing role models who have truly impacted my life for the better. Their life lessons were just as impactful, if not more so, than what they taught me academically.

I have gone to my teachers for life advice, family problems, even friend advice. They were always more than willing to help me out, and I can't express how much that meant to me.

To all of my teachers, whether you were someone I went to for advice or just someone who taught me math, thank you. I appreciate you, and I wouldn't be where I am today without you.