One of the things I cherished most during high school was the small student-to-teacher ratio that allowed me to build strong relationships with my teachers. To me, my teachers were not just instructors, but adults I could count on and look up to — both inside and outside of class.

They taught me how to be a genuine, selfless person and to not be afraid to take risks and follow my heart. They are role models and people who I aspire to be like to my future children. As a high school graduate, I will always have a reason to visit my high school every time I’m back home so I can proudly share my accomplishments with the adults that have helped me get to where I am today.

There are infinite things I want to thank them for, but here are just a few.

Thank you for showing me that you cared about my well being.

From asking a simple “You look tired — are you getting enough sleep?” to letting me take a class period to nap because I pulled an all-nighter for another class the night before, I appreciate how you would always notice whenever something was off about me and make sure I was healthy and okay.

It meant a lot to me when you would take time out of your busy schedule to send me an email or write me a card when my mom passed away, letting me know that your classroom was always open to be a safe space for me if I ever needed alone time on campus.

Thank you for never giving me the easy way out, but also for always giving me the steps to succeed.

Whether it was helping me revise a paper when I struggled with writing or solving a math problem on the board, thank you for never telling me what exactly to write or just showing me the solution sheet.

Although I got frustrated because sometimes I couldn’t grasp what the problem was or because I couldn’t think of how to word a “deeper analysis,” thank you for only giving me constructive criticism or just circling one part of the problem that I was doing incorrectly.

I will never forget my English teachers writing me questions in the margins of my papers for me to answer in order to deepen my analysis instead of telling me straight-up, “Write ______” because it allowed me to put more effort into thinking about the content I was writing and learn the skills myself.

Thank you for talking to me if we ever ran into each other on the way to class.

Sometimes I would be having a rough day and a simple “hello” with a smile on the way to class could make it so much better. I will never forget the short conversations I had with my teachers in between classes, especially one particular one where my calculus teacher remembered that I had been stressing out about a major event during class the week before and she asked me how it went, reacting with a “Hey, that’s great! I’m happy for you!” when I told her it went smoothly.

Thank you for pushing me to follow my passions.

I remember when posters that I designed about mental health awareness were hung up around school as a project for my graphic design class back in freshman year, and I remember being extremely conflicted on whether or not digital art was something I wanted to continue pursuing throughout high school.

The amount of positive feedback and encouragement I received from not only my graphic design teacher but also other members of the school faculty, really helped me choose the path I am taking today in college. I started high school with the lowest self-confidence level I’ve ever had in my life, but just hearing my teachers tell other teachers, “Look at what she did! It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen!” has made me a more confident person and I’m more willing to take risks inside and outside the classroom now.

Without the encouragement of my teachers, I never would have been able to see my designs displayed around campus, and especially not 200 copies of a print magazine that I designed for the school.

Thank you for sharing parts of your life outside of school with me.

I think all of my classmates will agree when I say that one of our favorite parts of class would be hearing about how our teachers’ weekends went and listening to all their funny anecdotes. I still laugh thinking about how I saw my English teacher at a concert once.

Hearing about my teacher’s life experiences made me feel a lot closer to my teachers and helped me be more comfortable talking to them and asking for help. Thank you for letting us play with your kids when you brought them to school and for showing us pictures of your family — it made you someone more than just a teacher to us.

And most of all, Thank you for being a friend.

I’ll never forget the classes where we’d get slightly off topic while I was getting individual help from them and we’d just make jokes and talk about our days. I’ll never forget going to see my teachers during office hours to talk to them about life or give them cupcakes.

I’m happy to say that I still keep in regular contact with some of my teachers and I’m always excited to share my work with them. Although we have transitioned from emailing over Canvas to messaging over Facebook, I’m glad they are always there to listen to me and be proud of the person I’m becoming.

Also, thanks for endorsing me on LinkedIn. That’ll come in handy one day.