Although I graduated high school in 2014, I still remember the majority of the teachers that I've had. Some of them better than others but nonetheless they were all amazing teachers, even if I didn't see it when I was still in high school. But there's one teacher that left a lasting impression on me. I knew from the first day my senior year that I was going to love his class. But little did I know I would apply almost every piece of advice that he gave my class into my life now. The teacher I need to thank would be my African American History teacher, Mr. Martin.

Mr. Martin might just have been an ordinary teacher to some of his students but to me, he was more than a teacher. He was a teacher and an adviser all in one. Mr. Martin took the first 10-15 minutes of each class and opened it up to talk about whatever the class wanted to. Whether it was current events or typical things that seniors stress about. This really meant a lot to me because not every teacher will take the time to let you talk about what's on your mind, but he really took the time to get to know each of his students. During these beginning of class talks, I learned more than my almost 16 years of school could have taught me.

I learned valuable pieces of advice that I actually use in my life today. He taught me that it's okay to go after what you want even if you have to ask because the worst thing that could happen is that you get told no. I wanted to be a front-end supervisor at one of my jobs and I asked my manager, and guess what? I became a front end supervisor. I wanted to bake at my other job and asked that manger, and guess what? I became a baker. The same goes for writing for Odyssey. Even if the answer would have been no, I would have been in the same position I would I have if I didn't ask.

Mr. Martin made me realize I wasn't actually scared of the things I was scared of, but instead, I was nervous. He told my class, nervous is natural, it's normal to be nervous, nervous means you're ready-- but scared, scared means you're not ready. I had thought I was scared of so many things but turns out I was just nervous. I almost gave up moving into my dorm freshman year of college but I thought I was scared of being alone and away from my parents. I'm so glad that I remembered what Mr. Martin said before I made that decision because I made a ton of memories and lifetime friends.

He also made me realize that the people who were mean to other people in high school weren't going to matter after graduation. He said to keep doing what matters to you and you'll see them and none of the things that they said or did would matter. I cannot stress how true this is. I see people who gave me a hard time and none of what went down in high school matters or bother me anymore. I'm focused on me and they're focused on being mean.

Mr. Martin went out of his way for all of his students. Whatever the reason behind it, he made sure his students' voices, thoughts, and opinions were heard. He even wanted to change the way students talked to each other. He tried to hard to get students to stop using the "n" and "b" words when talking. I still to this day tell people not to use the "n" word, although I'm not perfect and the "b" word still comes out every once in awhile.

But speaking of going out of his way for students, I missed the entire month of April from being sick and he made sure I got enough time to do my makeup work when I got back. He didn't rush me to finish it like some of my teachers.

Mr. Martin had such passion for what he taught. I had him for African American history and he took what we were being taught to whole other level. He related to what was going on in the news and what he had experienced in his own personal life. You could tell by the way he spoke and the way he taught that he loves doing what he does and that in turn made his students more engaged, and I really think my class learned more that way.

Mr. Martin taught me to do what I'm passionate about, and that is the reason I started taking dance classes again.

Mr. Martin was way more than just a teacher to me, he was and continues to be somebody that I look up too. "When one teaches, two learn."

Thank You Mr. Martin for being the most influential and inspiring teacher I've ever had.