In one year, I will be a senior all over again. Top of the food chain as I prepare to graduate college and be pushed to the bottom again. Approaching the brink of reality with a degree in my hands and no direction in mind. I have sat through classes for, give or take, 15 years while encountering double or triple the teachers, mentors, and professors. Confidently I can admit that without the support of the professionals who prepared me year by year, I would be nowhere near as capable of a student or person overall. The relationships that I have built with these individuals lives on, and I know a few are even reading this right now.

This is the appreciation you deserve everyday, yet rarely receive.

This is for the teachers in elementary school that try to keep kids from eating paste or bugs on the playground or eating anything, really. For teaching us skills that help move us through the rest of our lives, but are often overlooked in the grand scheme, because we're too busy immaturely running amok. I don’t know how you do it, but you do and you do it well. We are grateful for the dedication to papier-mâché and multiplication tables.

This is for middle school teachers who survive the terrible teens and every other infraction of adolescence. Mouthy kids pouncing on lunchtime and sex-ed like everything exists to be a joke. For braving a time when we all realize we aren’t as cool as we think we are, and never really will be, before the demise and acceptance of mediocrity. Thanks for allowing us to stray a bit before we recognized that we can accomplish what we set our minds to. The volcanoes and pre-algebra readied us for the foreign world awaiting. High school.

This is for the high school teachers who battle the rage of puberty every day and come back the next. Not much is more intimidating or impeding than a group of high schoolers aligned together. “The time of our lives” would be nothing without the educators insisting on excellence, and aiding in the building of our foundations. At the time, we think you are out to get us. But we understand the role you play in our development and we appreciate it.

And finally, for the professors who embrace us when we are the most vulnerable. Divulging ourselves in knowledge and ready to argue what we disagree with. You all help to guide us where you believe we should be, on an individual level. I have never felt more accepted or challenged by people who are only there to help. Thank you for being the final positive academic influences we have the chance to learn from.

I have encountered teachers that have changed my entire perspective on life. Teachers that fill me with the passion and fury to create and produce magic, teachers that drain me of enthusiasm for lack of connectivity, and teachers who teach to simply teach. There is no right or wrong, each student is different and results in a wide variety of teaching styles. Go you guys, for paying out of pocket for supplies to fill your classrooms. Rock on, for taking the time to create curriculum that involves students and engages in meaningful discussions. We salute you for taking on the hardest task to comprehend - shaping the minds of entire generations.

The enthusiasm you procure and the love we have for what you do everyday is overwhelming. I can only hope you understand the impact that you have on your students, and the meaning that you can bring to our lives.

With undying attention and devotion,
A loving student