Dear Professor,
From the first day I sat in your class during my sophomore year, I could tell your class was going to be my favorite. You were beyond excited to teach the material, and your personality caught my attention right away. I wanted to be your best student; I heard your classes were difficult, but I wanted to show you that I could excel.
Many classes passed, and you often brought me to tears during lectures, which is something other professors had never done with their lessons. You are the definition of an ideal teacher. Your ability to not only teach literature, but to connect it to me personally, is a quality not many teachers have. But you do, and I hope you know that it makes a tremendous difference.
I hope you know how much of an impact you have had on my life. You have given me something much more valuable than an education in literature, but you have refreshed my entire perspective on life itself. You have shown me that miracles surround me every day -- I just have to know how to find them. Common things can continue to be miraculous, if I only recognize them as such. You have taught me how to be a better person and how to live a life of doing more good than harm. You have refreshed my view of things I thought I once knew. You have shown me what it means to be a good person and to live a life you can look back on with pride, but also with humility. I hope you know the grand effect your words have taken on my outlook on life.
Thank you. Thank you for showing me my value as a person. Thank you for showing me that I am worth your time and your kind words. Thank you for working with me tirelessly, and thank you for your kind words when my writing shows even the slightest improvement. Thank you for noticing not only my weaknesses that need improvement, but also pointing out strengths I never saw before. It's easy to become lost in the swarm of college classes, clubs and numerous jobs. But it only took one person to pull me out of the confusion and show me what truly matters and how I should be living. You have shown me all of that and so much more, and I will be forever grateful.
If I had one wish, it would be that every student could be as lucky as I have been to have you as an English professor. For those students who are lucky enough to sit in a room with you, you are changing their lives for the better every single day of class. You are leaving a legacy that you should be extremely proud of.
Oh Captain, My Captain.
