You not only gave me the ability to excel in every writing class I have ever taken, you gave me a voice. A voice that is worthy of being heard. You brought me to where I am today and were the first to develop my passion for words.
Literacy is something that is so under appreciated in our world today. The people we are usually surrounded by in our daily lives have the ability to read and write as needed. The reality is that thirty-two million American adults are unable to use reading and writing correctly in the workforce because they never learned how to. For most of us, this is probably a shocking number of people.
Although many of the people we are surrounded by are capable of reading and writing, a lot of students do not have advanced skills and would prefer not to write. I believe this is because numerous students are not confident in their ability. Many students were never taught how to properly compose complex sentences while following grammar rules. They do not know how to correctly express their feelings through words and therefore don't have an interest in it.
Unless it is a tweet, an Instagram caption, or a text, many young people today do not write unless they are forced to for school. I have noticed that writing is looked at as somewhat of a weird hobby. I have been asked countless times why I would ever want to write just for fun. For me, writing is fun. It is something to focus my time and energy on; something that I am always looking to improve on.
I feel so blessed to be someone who loves to write and can confidently express my feelings onto a sheet of paper. I would never have developed such a love for writing if it wasn’t for my sixth grade teacher. She taught me the importance and the beauty of writing. She helped me to expand my vocabulary at a young age, trained me to correctly follow grammar rules, and guided me through composing pieces, which sparked my interest. I could never be more thankful to her for the gift that she gave me. Writing is a gift that I can and will use wherever life takes me.
From sixth grade on, I have always loved writing and looked to improve on it anywhere that I could. I love the way that I can put my feelings on a piece of paper and it can become something that impacts people or makes them think in a different way than they did before. Writing makes me feel like I have a voice, a voice that might make an impact and will be heard.
So to my middle school teacher... thank you from the bottom of my heart for pushing me to write, to improve, and to love the English language. I could not imagine what my life would be without my love for writing. Thank you for the gift that will never cease to challenge me and brings me nothing but overwhelming joy.
