Your job was to teach me about music. To teach me about vowels, breathing, singing in different languages, and proper stage etiquette. Your job was to show me how education in the arts is still so important and crucial. You did your job, and you did it well. You taught a student to be passionate about something they loved to do. You helped a student become a better rounded individual. You helped a student find one of their many strengths. You became a friend, and a confidant. There are so many things I need to thank you for that I could never find the words for...until now.

Thank you for creating a safe place within the scary high school. You created a place for me to come and do homework, or to simply just be with people who shared the same interests as me. The room became a place for friends to gather, and not just another classroom. It became a second home.

Thank you for being so hilarious and quirky that I had to start a quote list. You made every day interesting, and every day I was excited to come to your class. You made the class interesting, fun, and had something new for us every day. You made students not dread hour-and-a-half periods on Thursdays because there would always be something to be laughing about.

Thank you for showing me that other things are going on beyond the doors of the school. Thank you for all those NPR-inspired talks, for showing me things happen that are out of our control, and that sometimes we can’t always depend on ourselves to do everything — that we need people.

Thank you for believing in me. That shy little seventh grade girl never would have thought she would end up in the jazz and concert choir her sophomore year. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that she would be president of the club her junior and senior year. None of these things would have happened if you hadn’t believed in me from the very beginning.

Thank you for pushing me to my limits (or in times, past them). You showed me I could do things I didn’t think I could. Thank you for pushing me to do solo and ensemble. For pushing me to do a jazz solo night (even if you did have to threaten it as being a part of my grade). For pushing me to audition for All-State and All-Northwest. For pushing me to do these things I never would have done without that push.

Thank you for inspiring me. You know me well enough to know that I may not be going into the same profession as you, but you did inspire me. You inspired me to pursue my dreams. You inspired me to find something that I am as passionate about as you are about your job. You inspired me to find that thing that makes me tick, and to go out and do it.

Thank you for being the choir mom. Thank you for helping make our choir a family. Thank you for making fun of our weird generation things (i.e. Snapchat, Twitter, etc.). Thank you for making up your own words for these things (Snaptweeter). Thank you for acting like a kid when it was time to act silly, and acting like an adult when needed.

Thank you for being my friend and my confidant. Thank you for sending me things that you think would interest me (i.e. cat videos, what else?).

Most of all, thank you for being so passionate about your work, and for loving music so much. Thank you for all of the trips and the memories. Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for any student. Thank you for using all of your time and all of your efforts to make sure your students get the most out of their education in your class. Thank you for loving every student the best way you know how. Thank you for everything.

Sincerely,

A Grateful Student