All teachers deserve an enormous thank you. All of them have decided they want to help others learn and to help guide the younger. It does not matter what grade they teach, or what subject, each teacher will affect at least one student’s life if not many. I have been blessed to have three separate teachers who have really touched my heart and stood out to me over the years.

My first was back in first grade. He was a very animated teacher; he always kept things interesting in the classroom to keep our short attention spans. One of the first things he said, and I don’t know why it stuck with me, was that he loved lucky charms and he always saved the marshmallows for last. And now every time I have my own bowl of Lucky Charms I save mine for last too. Though my connection was so much more than that. This teacher liked to draw and would have fun characters on the board or leave us individual little pictures on our papers. My favorite part of class was story time. He started my love for reading back then. He would read to us “Junie B Jones” books and he acted at moments or created silly voices that made us all laugh. My first grade teacher really showed me what it was like to laugh and have fun in the school environment.

The second teacher, and probably my most influential, was in high school. Where I went to high school we had to pick a technical area that we would study all four years, and my graphic design teacher became a mentor to me and later on a friend. She began my love for design, which I was so unsure of at first. She taught me to never quit and that something’s take time or chances to redo before they look good. That even our smallest ideas can become something great. I looked forward to going to my graphic design class every day to learn something new about something I was passionate about from someone who was just as passionate and had so much to offer. Also, I need to thank her for even wiping a few tears away through the years as I became stressed, in high school drama, or going through a hard time. And even now, two years after graduation, I love catching up with her and I hope to one day make her proud as a graphic designer. My teacher changed my life in such a way I have even thought about trying to get her job one day so I too could guide someone who may need the little help.

The last teacher was actually a professor at the community college I attend. As an art major I had to take art history and I continued to try and push the class of because I figured I would dread the class and be bored or bad at the subject. When I finally got around to taking it, class after class, my mind was changed. I began to appreciate every piece the teacher talked about, I became interested in the history of the architectures we focused on, and I loved the little details my teacher would point out to us. I learned so much from the class. After class every now and then I would stay later and ask him more about a piece to the point I was growing a sort of relationship as a pupil with my professor and he began to become my mentor and encourage me to try more than just graphic design for a major. I still run into him in the halls and he always tells me he misses me in his room because I always so interested in the subject.

I owe a huge thank you to all of my teachers, but an even bigger on to these three. For the first quarter of your life basically you are in school and you see these adults everyday and you look up to them, you build relationships with them, they touch your heart as they help shape you somewhat into the person you become. Even from the very start at such a young age, through the growing teenage years, and after when you thought you had everything all figured out about yourself. I have continuously been surprised by how much my teachers have affected my life for the better. How they have influenced me, taught me things I would have never known with out them, guided me through life and things even outside of their subjects. How I have looked up to many of my teachers and how they have created such a wonderful environment for me to grow in and are excited to learn in.

I hope to one day make all my teachers proud because after what they go through and the hours they put in they deserve it. I’m sorry it was after I was no longer in your classroom that I realized how much you meant to me. I wish I would have worked harder and pushed myself to do even better for you. And you still influence some of my decisions today. So thank you to all the teachers everywhere, we appreciate you and everything you do for us. Thank you for the lessons, the encouragement, the hugs, the smiles, and the advice. You always more than just a teacher; you are one of the many unsung heroes of the world.