There were several stages for me in school. The first stage was the stage where I was the giggly girl with my friends and I never paid attention simply because I was talking, the next stage was the "I don't and won't care" stage, and the last, and final, stage was the motivated stage. Throughout all of these stages I had great teachers who never gave up on me. I always look back and wonder how those teachers saw me, and where they thought I would go. What did they see in me? That is a question I wish I could ask all of them, and get honest answers.

Teachers are so overlooked. They build, educate, inspire and motivate the future of our country. I had teachers who I didn't appreciate until now. They pushed me, tested me and, ultimately, taught me. Some became my closest allies. I thank all of my teachers for pushing me to do best.

There were a lot of teachers who taught you and helped you in their class, but then there were other teachers who sat with you and listened to you. I can remember ranting to some and them giving me true, thought-out advice. They help you and care about you. Their classroom became a safe haven for you. I can remember sitting with one teacher way past the bell and then her writing me a late pass for class that said something along the lines of-- "she was helping me finish up some things in class."

Let's not forget the teachers who let you store your books, bags, pillows, lunch and practically anything in their classroom until you needed it. Thanks for being my makeshift locker. Can we just appreciate the ones that we could say anything around? The ones who weren't afraid to be real with us. I just wanna give a shout out to the teachers that skipped lunch so I could eat in the silence of their classroom. My newspaper teacher's classroom was my safe haven. I slept in there, ate in there, stored all of my things in that classroom, I stayed in there after school, I came in before school, I ranted to her, opened up to her, and felt completely comfortable. She taught me valuable lessons inside the classroom and outside. Also, the teachers who saw that we were struggling, had a restless night or no time for coffee, and let us take refuge and nap all day in their classroom.

I had a math teacher, my senior year of high school, who came in way before school started and way before she even had to be there to give me some extra tutoring or help on yesterday's homework. She knew I tried my best to understand, and she knew that I learned a little differently than other kids. I needed step-by-step, visual instructions and she gave that to me. Teachers who are committed to helping every student learn are the best there are. There were always those teachers who didn't quite agree with some of the rules of the school, like off campus lunches. They would hear you talking about where to eat and either chime in or turn the other way in an "I never heard or saw a thing" kind of way.

I wish I could go back and personally voice my appreciation for the people who helped make me who I am today. They've brought me so far and taught me so much, and I hope they continue to do that for students throughout the years.