Throughout high school, I dealt with a lot of people and a lot of teachers. I wasn’t exactly the best student and I know that. I tried my hardest and I’m sure that if I had tried harder, I would’ve been an even better student.

Honestly, I regret not being as involved as I could’ve been. And I regret not going to school as much as I should have.

If there is one piece of advice that I could give to those in high school and especially to those who are seniors (or juniors becoming seniors), it would be to get involved.

To the teachers who encouraged me in high school, shout out to you.

Thank you for keeping me going and having my back.

Thank you for loving me, even if it was secretly the whole year (making it seem like you hated me), because that pushed me to be even better.

Thank you for being understanding and always listening to me when I needed to vent.

Thank you for the endless lessons about life.

Now that it has been a year since I graduated, I fully see how incredible some of my teachers truly were (and still are). There is a belief that some teachers are these awful human beings who want to make your life a miserable and awful experience and for some people, that may be true. Some teachers may just be really awful people.

But some of the teachers I had, did a heck of a lot for us. Of the teachers I can think of, all 3 of my English teachers in high school were hands down my favorite people and they are truly the reason I love writing. Each of them went above and beyond for me and always had my back no matter what I was dealing with while I was in their class. My college English professors, were also incredible and inspired me to create the blog that I run.

So by this point, if you haven’t figured it out, this is article goes out to my three favorite high school teachers as well as my two college English professors.

In 9^th grade, I was a nervous wreck and I didn’t know how I was going to handle high school. I was a shy, tiny girl who was scared of getting beat up in the hallway like all the movies taught me was going to happen. I was scared of getting beat up in the hallway... yes I know, typical.

Anyways, I met my English 1 teacher (shout out to Mr. Mitchell) who at first scared me. Let me tell you, I was terrified of this man and I really think it was all the hair, the deep voice, and the fact that he was like well over six feet tall.

Moral of the story here is, he ended up being one of my all-time favorite teachers. I went from being terrified of him to telling him a lot about life.

Mr. Mitchell was one of the first teachers in high school who really got me out of my shell.

It’s incredible how someone can just figure out the kind of person you are and is able to just make you an even better person and help you become a little more outgoing.

In 10^th grade, I had the English teacher that everyone knew as the “mean, strict guy.” And that is only partially true. Sorry to Mr. Herrera in advance for blowing your cover. Mr. Herrera is one of the greatest, sassiest, but strictest teachers I have ever had. But in the long run, he does his job and he does it well. He taught me the importance of truly digging into an assignment, marking it up, comprehending it, and pulling the true meanings out of a story. From him, I also learned the importance of having a little (or a lot) of sassiness in my life. And I am grateful for that. In the end, he pushed me a lot and I learned through that I have to keep fighting no matter the circumstance. He got me through an incredibly tough year and I couldn’t be more thankful.

By 11^th grade, I had had enough of high school at this point, I was ready for a break and that is exactly what I got. I had Mr. Mitchell again and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. It was his last year of teaching and I was so thankful that I got the pleasure of being in one of his last classes. He had become such a father figure to me through everything I had been through and he continued to push me through everything but not be too hard. Unfortunately, I became depressed and every day that I actually went to school, he was always there to give me the fatherly advice that I needed. As weird as it sounds, he was my rock that year and he kept my head above the water. My junior year wasn’t as bad as my sophomore year but it still had its really difficult times.

My senior year rolled around and I decided that I was going to give myself a break and take an easier class for English. It was basically a prep class for college (rather than taking AP Lit) and I was glad I did this. Mrs. Melnicoff was one of the greatest teachers I had senior year. If there is one thing I could say about that woman, it would be that she will make you smile every day. Even though it is still school, she made English interesting and she put things that I had learned into a different perspective and I finally understood them. She also taught me the importance of staying strong through tough times, staying focused and hanging on even when it feels like you can’t. Senior year was probably one of the roughest for me and I feel that I was placed in that class for a reason. She changed my life and my perspectives.

Once I got into college, my first and second semesters were wonderful. I had two incredibly teachers, Ms. Evans and Mrs. Thayer. They both kept me going and were so gracious to me. They taught me some incredible lessons and expanded my horizons when it came to reading AND writing.

So, my advice here is this:

Even when your teachers seem to be unbearable at the beginning, middle or even the end of the school year (or semester) remember that most of them are just trying to make you a better student. I probably wouldn’t be sitting here, writing for Odyssey if it weren’t for these wonderful people.

Thank you to all of the incredible English teachers who have made me the person I am today. I am so grateful.