It is no doubt that through high school, mainly sophomore year through senior year, I struggled. I struggled with personal issues that of course ran over into my school life. Being an International Baccalaureate student, we were held at higher standards than other high school students and the stakes were much higher because we had two diplomas at risk, not just one. Missing one day of school caused an inordinate amount of stress, so we pushed through. But I could not have pushed through without the support of my I.B. teachers. Each of them went above and beyond for us and put in more hours than an average teacher. But one teacher specifically, the I.B. Spanish teacher, impacted my life for the better.
Dear Roberson,
I wrote several letters to you to say thank you throughout my high school career but it has been on my heart that you need at least one more. High school was hard for me, as you know very well, and you took me under your wing and became like a second mom to me. Your class was my first big obstacle in I.B., and I struggled through it. But I never once disliked you, because I respected you, and I wanted more than anything to conquer your class. I wanted to show you how strong I could be. You helped me succeed in Spanish, and you never let me give up. By the end of the semester, I ended with an 85 and could not have been happier with that grade. It was a couple of months after the fact when I told you why I was struggling so much. And from that point on, with tears in both of our eyes, you began to change my life.
Every morning you would arrive at school around 7:55, and I would sit in your room before the bell, and we would just talk. You helped me realize that I still had a purpose. You helped me see that the mistakes the people around me were making were not my fault. You told me that how I was feeling was okay, and you did not see me differently or treat me differently when I became sick and struggled more than I have in my life. I became physically sick to the point where I was in serious danger, but you helped me keep going.
Over three years I grew in my abilities with Spanish, and I went to Costa Rica with you and my classmates. I had the best week of my entire life, and I owe that to you. You helped me escape and to be honest, I felt more at home in Costa Rica than anywhere I have been before. You helped give me the opportunity to spread my wings and find healing in a foreign place where I was speaking a language I had only learned in just a few years.
So many try to bring you down because you do not have the same teaching style as some. They say that you are mean and not a good teacher, but that could not be farther from the truth. I see you as strong and smart and motherly. You tell it like it is, you write glowing letters of recommendation, and you care about your students so much that you sacrifice a lot. So thank you for changing my life, thank you for still caring about me even though I am now in college, and thank you for being you because I could not have made it any other way.
“Pura Vida”
Gracias por todo,
Heather C.
