As a future teacher I know how many of us go in with big dreams of changing the world through our students.That’s a pretty big task, and eventually we have to come to terms with the fact that not every single student who walks into our classroom is going to walk back out thinking about how much we changed their life.Somehow this doesn’t scare many of us away from teaching. Instead, we realize that making a difference for one student is just as much of a victory as making a difference for one-hundred.This is why I think it is so important to let a teacher know when they do change your life.

Dear the Teacher Who Changed Me,

If you had told us at the beginning of the semester to write something that would be published and available for anyone, anywhere, to read I probably would have considered dropping your class. I’ve always enjoyed writing and consider myself pretty good at it; but the idea of anyone other than a teacher (who is morally required not to laugh in my face) reading it terrifies me.Yet here I am. Why? Because over the course of four short months you helped me change how I saw myself.

I remember the first week of class when I realized that sharing our work was going to be a trend, and I dreaded it.There were days I didn’t even want to open my notebook for the fear of someone peeking at what I wrote. Slowly this began to change. I began to feel less embarrassed by my ideas and my words. For one of the first times in my life, I was actually excited for opportunities to share my thoughts.

I’m not quite sure how you did it. If you talked to any other teacher I’ve had, or just anyone who knows me in general, they’re probably wondering the same thing.The confidence didn’t come from overpraising us or bright stickers on our papers telling us how much we’ve improved. It just happened. One day I sat down to write something for class and was so proud I wished I could share it with the world.The funny thing is, I didn’t. I had the chance but didn’t read a single word of that paper aloud. I remember thinking about how stupid that was. I also remember deciding that was the last time I would ever underestimate myself.

The best lessons are ones that can be used outside of the classroom. Knowing how to write a perfect advice column probably won’t be what makes me successful in life, but everything I learned in the process will. I learned that contrary to what most people say, comparing yourself to others can boost your confidence – it all just depends on the angle you take. Instead of comparing yourself to others to see where you fall short, compare yourself to see how many qualities you actually share. I learned that the outcome usually isn’t as important as what you did to get there. I might not always be where I want in life, but as long as the choices I make reflect my intentions, I can be sure I’ll get there one day. I learned that everyone has a starting point, but without the confidence to take risks, that’s as far as you’ll ever get.

Ironically, right after this new rush of confidence came the fear that I could never make the same type of impact as a teacher. I could never teach kids so much about life. That was until I remembered the approach we took to everything in your class: look at something you admire and decide “I’m going to create something like that” and then do it.

Thank you for being my personal mentor text.

Sincerely,

The girl who loves her newly discovered voice.