Dear Teachers,

First off, I would like to say that this is not a hate letter. This is simply a letter expressing my thanks towards all of you. I'm sure none of you will see this because either 1) we don't talk or 2) we aren't friends on Facebook. That's okay though. Maybe one day you will come upon this letter and think, "Hey, this is the kid that gave me attitude all the time."

Yeah, it's me. Alive and well.

I would like to say a few things in this letter. One of them being that I am sorry.

I'm sorry for causing tension or giving attitude. I'm sorry for falling daydreaming in your class because I didn't like the subject. I'm sorry for "hating" you because I was just an angsty teenage boy (okay maybe there's still a little bit left of that in me). I'm sorry for goofing off sometimes. I'm sorry that I wasn't always putting in my best effort towards your class/work.

Now I know I'm not the only student that has done any of the things I just said. Tons of students do, whether they’re straight-A kids or the slacking off kind of kids: every student acts that way sometime throughout their school career.

I'm not justifying my actions. I'm simply giving an observation that I believe is reasonable.

Now I would like to say something that you might not believe to be true, but I do: I am a good student.

Yes, I do slack off sometimes. Yes, I know I have given attitude in the past, BUT I do the work. I work hard. I put in the effort. I get good grades. The number of times I balanced my life between school, extracurriculars, and socializing are INSANE. I did a lot in high school and middle school. I understand that it was on me for feeling stressed out because I didn't have to do all the extra things I did, but I did it anyway.

The other night I was thinking to myself that I never actually "hated" any of you. Maybe the feeling is mutual, maybe it isn't. I realized that maybe I just struggled because I didn't do well in your subject or I didn't understand your teaching methods. Whatever it was, it was not you as a person. Okay, if I am being honest maybe a little bit, but if I felt that way towards you, I always assumed you felt the same about me.

An example: My 7th grade English teacher.

I never enjoyed going to your classroom. I always thought you had it out for me. I always thought I hated the class because of you. After years of taking English classes, I realized that you weren't the reason for my hatred of your class. It was simply because I can't stand learning about literature. It just is not my cup of tea. We still argued and you held me after class multiple times, but in the end, I turned out all right. I don't know about you because I haven't seen you since then, but I hope you are doing well!

The main reason I am typing this up is that you all made me the person I am today. Of course, the teachers I did get along with helped me majorly as well, but you guys specifically made me the person who I am today. I'm not talking smart-wise. I'm talking personality-wise because I obviously have made so many punctuational and grammatical errors in this letter I am SURE of it.

You guys unintentionally taught me that I need to stand up for myself. I can't be pushed around by people whether they have authority over me or not. I'm a human just like you. If I believe in something I'm going to fight for it. If I think I'm being mistreated I am going to say something. If I feel like I am being pushed around, I am going to do something about it.

I argued with you specific teachers simply because I thought I was being mistreated or someone else was. Maybe that was the case or maybe there was a misunderstanding, I don't know. I'm just giving you my point of view. You guys taught me to stand up for myself and fight for what I believe in, and I truly thank you for that.

I'm sorry about our differences. Maybe you forgot about me, or maybe I'm that "student" that you always tell your classes about that gave attitude or something. Whatever the case is, I hope you are doing well. I'm tired of holding grudges not only against teachers who I thought "wronged" me, but just people in general. We are all human. Teachers and students have disagreements and that's fine. It's life and it is going to happen. I learned something from you regardless, whether it was a life lesson or something you actually taught me in class. I guess a part of me hopes that maybe I taught you guys something as well. Just like every teacher says, we (the students) are the future of this world.

Again, I meant no offense in this letter. I just wanted to share with you my point of view now that I've left. I really hope you are doing well, and that you're having fun with whatever you are doing now. Thank you again. I will always be grateful for what you taught me.

-Al

P.S.

Here is a video I made on the last day of high school. Just to show you that I did enjoy my time there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4BtaCgXF7w