Throughout my young life, I've had many extraordinary teachers. I must have really lucked out because most of my teachers I got along with exceptionally well, even if I wasn't the best student. The most unforgettable teacher, however, would have to be my seventh and eighth grade English teacher. I've always gotten along best with my English teachers, whether they were high school teachers or college professors. I believe I have my eighth-grade teacher to thank for that.

For the purpose of anonymity, we'll call him Mr. Smith. To this day, I'm positive Mr. Smith set me up to always have a love of English. It's his fault I read Shakespeare and transcendentalists for fun (and the reason I'll always say the word large in an Irish accent).

All that being said:

Mr. Smith,

Thank you for just about everything. I didn't know it then, but you had a huge impact on my education and I will always be grateful for that.

Thank you for forcing us to both read and watch that horrible black and white version of "Lord of the Flies." Thank you for sharing your personal stories, no matter how embarrassing they were because I speak for the whole class when I say it helped us open us as writers and students. Along those lines, thank you for treating us like young adults and not prepubescent thirteen and 14-year-olds like everyone else.

I'll never forget those vocabulary books that were practically glued to my hand every Friday in preparation for our tedious vocabulary quizzes. I don't know how, but you made those weekly quizzes rather enjoyable. Maybe it was because your excitement for the word blasé somehow rubbed off on us, but either way, I looked forward to those Fridays.

Thank you for jumping on tables and yelling "e tu, brute?!" Or admittedly calling Lady Macbeth a bitch. Thank you for fast forwarding the risqué scenes in the Macbeth movie but telling us what's happening anyway.

Thank you for challenging us and not sugar coating if you had any disagreements with whatever our ideas were.

I wrote my first persuasive essay with you and I still know what it was about. You made me use inverted pyramid style and you loved it, of course. You said it was very intelligent and well written, but you also said you disagreed with my argument, but that that was okay. That taught me that it's okay to have my own ideas and beliefs.

Because of you, I am not scared to write essays, I'm not scared to challenge someone's thoughts on whether or not Cassius was a villain. Throughout my high school career, and now college, I've read more Shakespeare, developed my writing style, and close read more poems. I will always remember where it started, though.

You prepared me for my future and for that I will be forever grateful.

Always thankful,

The little middle school girl who learned a lot