To my high school teachers:

Thank you for making me realize that I am responsible for my own future. Whether it’s short term or long term, I learned from you all that just hoping that everything turns out OK is not always going to work. While it is true that there were some subjects I found very challenging, I am still grateful to those who taught them because it was in those classes that I learned the study strategies that work best for me. Constantly hearing about college every day for four years may have been stressful at the time, but now that I’m here, I realize that it was actually a good thing that I got used to the idea of choosing a career and being on my own.

Thank you for being kind. Even those of you who were intimidating on the surface were always nice to me whenever I spoke to you, and this proved to me that simple kindness goes a long way in brightening a stranger’s day. The atmosphere that this kindness created made the people there feel like a family, which is something that I am especially grateful for. Thank you for checking on me, especially senior year when it was college acceptance season.

Thank you for not being afraid to do things a little differently than your colleagues did. You knew that students either loved or hated your class, and you knew that those who loved it felt that way because you gave a fresh perspective during our very long days. I thank you for standing by your principles and proving that one can make a bigger impact by being different from their peers. You have inspired me to try to do the same, as well as to keep an open mind, even when others are trying to tell me what to think.

Thank you for making me feel welcome when I came back to visit. You have no idea how weird it was walking those sidewalks the first day that I came back, and I want to thank you all for making me feel so comfortable. It is difficult to describe the feeling of going back, so thank you for making it feel a whole lot less awkward than I was expecting it to feel. Being in those classrooms catching up on life and laughing at the same things that we used to is something that I look forward to whenever I go home.

Each and every one of you made an impact on the person that I am today, and I hope that you realize how much I appreciate everything you did for me. It’s because of you that I am now at the college that is a perfect fit for me. Thank you for helping me find my interests and pursue the things that I want. Most of all, thank you for making me feel like a member of the family.

Sincerely,

Your grateful former student.