Everyone will hopefully meet someone that will positively impact their life forever. I am lucky enough to have found this person in my friend and teacher, Jamie Tatum. Over the last 6 or so years, I’ve learned more about life from Mr. Tatum than anyone else, and a few of his lessons have stuck with me.

1) Be sincere.

Sincerity is becoming rare in 2017. Everyone is constantly joking, lying, pranking, or hiding their feelings. Through Tatum, I have learned how important it is to mean what you say, as you’re sure to have interactions that are much more worthwhile.

2) It’s so easy to be friendly.

As a person plagued with the sarcastic trait, I had a hard time being nice all the time without cracking jokes. Mr. Tatum showed me how many quality people you’ll gain in your day to day life by treating everyone with the respect they deserve.

3) Think about your future, but don’t panic!

I used to slack in classes a lot(In fact I had a D+ in Tatum’s 7th grade health class). I never thought about my future education or career, but at that age everyone always spoke about how much fun we’d have as adults. Thanks to several years of teaching (as well as tons of encouraging) moments, Tatum helped me realized that I should be working toward my future.

As a teacher, he didn't just explain the consequences of our actions; how a simple choice can truly make a substantial impact on the rest of your life, he gave examples. He went out of his way to tell 13 and 14 year olds how important it is for us to make good decisions.

4) Friends aren't everything.

In middle school, friends were all anyone cared about. They could be your crowning achievement or your greatest downfall; they could bring you up or down on the social ladder in just a few words, and we let them. After going through my three years of junior high as the person who was friends with literally everyone, I lost most of them when freshman year arrived.

I don't consider myself a person that has a lot of friends. At first I thought of this as a flaw; there had to be something wrong with me. After a few conversations with Tatum, he expressed exactly what I should have figured out: the number of friends one has will never equate exactly to their quality of character.

5.) Health is more than just physical.

As a child, I assumed that physical health was the only kind. Growing up with some developmental issues in my legs, I knew that I wasn't healthy because of my steadily growing inability to do strenuous things.

However, covering mental health, behavioral health and social wellness contributed to my understanding in a very positive way. I also think that I wouldn't be as understanding of those with mental or social disorders if I wouldn't have had so many compassionate people in my life.

6.) Success isn't a number, it's a suggestive social construct.

I remember always thinking that no matter what I did in my future, I wanted to be successful. I needed to be successful. It's so expensive to do anything these days, how would I buy my mansion and all of my cars when I was broke? I'm so glad that I was able to learn that success cannot be achieved without happiness.

Tatum always encouraged me, as well as my classmates, to find ways to turn passions into careers. He always said that happiness is more important than the number on your paycheck. I completely agree, and while I may not be able to survive on the salary from something I love, I will always remember his words and make sure that whatever I do in life is something that I truly enjoy.

Overall, all lessons aside, I find myself insanely privileged to have spent the last six years as the student of someone as intelligent, pleasant, and inspiring as my teacher Jamie Tatum. May he continue to share wisdom with all of his future students.

-Dez