Guess who it is?!

I just wanted to write this to say thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for me over the years. I would not have been able to make it through my high school years without you there with me, always watching out for me.

Math was never my strong subject, I was more into writing and history than I ever was into math. However, yours was the first math class that I ever looked forward to attending. You didn't just teach math. You didn't write on the board and lecture us about the right angles and remembering the sides of the triangles when referring to sine, cosine, and tangent, you involved us in class. You worried about us. If we ever needed anything at all, you were right there. If someone was struggling, you supported them, no matter what was going on. You were always the ear right there to listen to us whenever we had a problem, no matter how big or small. I can't thank you enough for that.

Going through the struggle I was facing before finally being diagnosed with depression and anxiety, I often felt like the world was crashing down around me and all I had the ability to do was watch. Every day when I went to school, I struggled. I didn't want to be around people or look at anyone or even bee up and moving at that point. Whenever I was having a rough time, exhausted from existing that day, I could come to your class and just vent and get away from everything at that moment.

You were like a father to me while I was at school. No matter if I was in your class or if I was just walking down the hallway, you were there for me whenever I needed you and made that quite clear. The fact that you would volunteer your time for me to make sure that I was healthy and happy helped me to realize that I was good enough to seek out treatment for my illness. Before you had shown me that spending time on me was acceptable, I didn't see myself as worthy enough to seek out treatment. I thought it wasn't bad enough and there were people out there that had it far worse than me, but you showed me that I did deserve to get treatment and that my problems were valid.

I honestly cannot thank you enough for everything you've done for me over the years. You've taught me so much more than just how to regurgitate information back onto a test. You taught me that I am worth something and I can never repay you for that.

Your pseudo-daughter,
Cricket