Throughout my school years, I have been blessed to have many teachers who have impacted my life in ways I wouldn’t have expected. All of them have been absolutely wonderful, but there’s one who has gone above and beyond — and the craziest thing is, she probably doesn’t even realize it.

This semester was my first college semester, and it was during this time that I met the one teacher who never doubted me for a second. She was my instructor for, coincidentally, my favorite class, and she helped me to learn a lot about myself.

Right from the start, she saw something in me that I had always pushed back.

Because of this, with everything we did, she made it her mission to challenge me to help me grow further. Whenever I stumbled, she made sure that I didn’t let that step back get me down, but instead, it brought me ten steps further.

If I would get discouraged or feel like I couldn’t do it, she was always right there to help me through it, and she was truly my biggest cheerleader.

I know you might be thinking, “Yeah, but teachers are supposed to help you.”

But this was a different kind of help.

This support from her made me recognize what I am good at and what I do best. It made me gain confidence in my abilities and admit I do have something I am good at.

She made me see that this idea I had in my head of what I was meant to do wasn’t actually just a crazy idea but it was something I could make into a reality.

She helped me to recognize my passion.

I truly don’t think I would’ve been able to recognize this without her. Sure, I have a strong support system outside of school, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.

But what really tops it all off is to have the support of someone who didn’t even know anything about me when I walked in and now has profoundly impacted the direction I’m going in.

When I signed up to take this class, I never knew I was going to grow as much as I did. I know now that maybe my wildest dreams aren’t so wild after all and they truly are something I can meet.

I don’t know if that’s something I would’ve recognized without her.

So, to that teacher, I cannot thank you enough for what you did for me in the past couple of months. I hope you know now how much you’ve helped me grow and the impact you made in my life.

What you’ve done for me has truly changed me, and I’ll take everything you’ve taught me with me forever.