Teaching is probably one of the hardest, under appreciated jobs, and teaching at an ALL girls' high school… Well for those of you who do this, you are angels, and I am here to tell you that I appreciate you. So here it is, an open letter of appreciation to the teachers at my all girls' (and crazy) high school.
To my English teachers, Thank you for teaching me MLA format. It is so nice being one of the few in class not scratching my head confused about MLA format or the process of annotated bibliography, outline, rough draft, and final draft. If you are reading this, I hope my grammatical errors are at a bare minimum and you love me enough not to judge me for them (Also know this is not a formal essay, so it's okay that I start my sentences with And- I promise!). Also, thank you for forcing us to read British literature, poems, American literature, and all of the rest mandated books because it really helped me in Trivia Crack.
To my Math teachers, I learned a very valuable lesson in your class. I learned that X has its problems and we have our own problems, but though hard work, dedication, the Pythagorean theorem, and the extra time in the math lab where you let us vent, we can solve them both. I also learned if your textbook wasn't covered, it was not the end of the world , which taught me to not sweat the little things. I would have never been able to pass college algebra (where I was “taught" the slope formula) without your help, so thank you.
To my History teachers, Thank you for never giving me a detention. I should probably tell this to every teacher, but I am embarrassed to say, that I probably slept the most in your class, chewed the most gum in your class, and sassed you the most out of all the teachers. I honestly probably deserved the detentions you threatened to give me, but you never did. So, thank you for teaching me that I can cry and complain my way out of anything. (I'm totally kidding) On a serious note, thank you for never giving up on me and forcing me to learn because of this, I can actually form a real debate on current government and I can kick some serious butt on Trivia Crack.
To my Spanish teachers, Hola… I wish I could write more, but after three years without taking your class I am a little rusty. Spanish teachers (foreign language teachers in general) are probably the most loving, charismatic, and festive human beings in the entire world. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Finding Nemo in Spanish, making castanets, having “cultural and educational" fiestas, and meeting some of my best friends in your classes. Please wish me luck as I face my next greatest foreign language feat…Swahili.
To my Physical Education teachers, I hated running the mile, so thank you for making me suffer through that every quarter… But, I loved running away from scary seniors in dodge ball as an eighth grader and being the scary seniors in twelfth grade, so thank you for that. Thank you for letting me complain and gossip to you without judgment (okay there was a little judgment). I truly enjoyed your class my entire time in high school, and it too, is where some of my best friends and I met. And, since most of you were my coaches, thank you for being the most bomb a** coaches in the entire world. You taught me to have strength, dedication, and faith. Some of my best memories were made during Cross Country and Track and they are all thanks to you and for that, I am sincerely grateful. I want to quickly give a small shout out to Mr. Garvey, one of my track and field coaches, for never giving up on me, for running around just to make sure you saw me throw, and for always being a friend when I needed one.
To my Religion teachers, It is hard to put in words how grateful I am for you. My faith has been tested so many times and many of the times, you were the ones to save it. I never would have been on Retreat Team without you and I would have never become the girl I am today. I am so blessed I received a Catholic education and I am so blessed to have had you teach me.
Now I know I am missing many teachers and I am sorry I did not get to thank you personally. I have never met such a loving group of adults who were there when I needed a mentor, a friend, as well as an actual teacher. My success in college is very much due to all of you. Thank you for always being there for me through the times in my life when I felt alone, through family struggles, through friend struggles, through college application times, through senioritis times, and through the stressful times (which actually you inflicted, but that is besides the point) Thank you for all the times you made me laugh, actually work hard for something, think critically, and never give up.
And finally, thank you all for showing me that even when I am forced to become a boring adult I can still be goofy and have a good time. I will forever remember the times when you lip synched like it was nobody's business, danced awkwardly to the Backstreet Boys (you know who I am talking about), and beat up on high school girls through flag football.
So, to the teachers of St. Mary's Dominican High School, thank you for being the best teachers in the entire world. You rock my D socks (if you went to my school you would get that joke).
