To my high school foreign language teachers,

Thank you! Merci! Danke! Thank you for showing me a different view of the world filled with culture, creativity, and expression. It is because of you that I am pursuing a degree in French and German, which is something you should be proud of.

It is true that teachers do make an impact on their students’ lives as you’ve made me to be the person I am today. I am more accepting of people of who they are and where they come from. I do not judge and discriminate as other people live differently than I do. You made me realize there is an entire world out there to see and that I should break out of my comfort shell and seek adventure.

I look up to you, as an educator and a person. Inside the classroom, you taught me grammar, vocabulary, and culture lessons. However, as a person, you taught me how to be respectful for people who are different than my cultural norms. The foreign language exchanges were bittersweet, as I got to see the world with my very own eyes.

You might have not realized it at first, but I do appreciate the work you have done to guide me towards reaching my career goal: to be a foreign language teacher. For that, I have the utmost gratitude. You showed me how important it is for students to learn a foreign language, whether its Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and the list goes on. You helped me be part of a group that I felt comfortable with and who today, are some of my truest best friends. Outside the classroom, your seamless effort to create after school clubs were nothing but fun times while enjoying crepes and ice cream shaped like spaghetti.

As Thanksgiving is around the corner, I am thankful for you this year. You are the reason I don’t mind taking an 8 a.m. Italian class or an advanced French class next semester. I am thankful for your kind words of motivation and your thoughtful actions, and for that I will always cherish your hard work.

Sincerely,

Your influenced student