It's hard to imagine life without certain people — people who pick us up after we have been ground in to the dirt, people who make laughter a priority, people who genuinely want the best for us and are willing to do ANYTHING to help us succeed. Those are the people we need in our lives, and for me, luckily enough, I have a person just like that, all wrapped up into one.

My high school Theology teacher, Mrs. Knittel, the woman I genuinely aspire to be, is not only a role model, but rather, she is a hero. After having started college and feeling a little beside myself during certain points, my mind aimlessly floated on and I began thinking, "Why am I who I am today?" My answer was experiences, of course. Experiences mold us, help us to grow, teach us how to be strong despite failure. Though, I think experiences are life changing, but people can be too. For me, Mrs. Knittel, changed my life for the better.

Recently, I read a book entitled Tuesday's With Morrie by Mitch Albom. Honestly, the book changed my life. For me, it was a step in the right direction — a small gift sent to me from God to help me cope with the struggles I had been facing. When I opened the book and couldn't seem to stop reading, I realized that not only had I heard the lessons that Morrie was teaching, I was taught them, and by no one except Mrs. Knittel. It was Mrs. Knittel, just like Morrie, who had lived a good part of her life and implemented a very special lesson she learned into class everyday. For that, I could not thank her enough, because without her, I wouldn't be even half of the person that I am today.

Lesson #1: Family Over Everything

Without family, life would be meaningless. Everyday, Mrs. Knittel would share a story about either her children, a sibling, her parents, her grandchildren or her husband. You could tell family was sincerely important to her. The love she had, as a mother, for her children was priceless and inexplicable. Not only did she love her family, she lived for them, and it is amazing to know love like hers is out there. Also, the stories of her and her husband, the definition of unconditional love, never ceases to pull a tear or two from my eyes. She, despite the things life threw at her, never stopped loving.

Lesson #2: Who CARES What People Think

There are so many reasons to admire Mrs. Knittel, but one thing that really stands out to me about her is her ability to care less of what another person says or thinks — she knows who she is and where she comes from, and she is proud. Mrs. Knittel is so widely respected, and even though I know she would never admit it, she is so loved and admired across my entire high school and even some of the surrounding schools. She is poised, confident, reverent, respectful — I'm not even sure how so many wonderful qualities fit into one person.

Lesson #3: Remain Strong In Your Faith

Despite a growing secular world that we live in, holding onto a strong faith is something that can get us through anything. It's funny. We would go to class with Mrs. Knittel just before we'd have an all school mass. We would spend that class being a little less than serious, having meaningful conversations, growing in friendship with our classmates, listening to funny stories. Though, when the time for Mass would come around, it was Mrs. Knittel that brought us back to seriousness, reminding us that we are here because He so loved us. Her ability to hush a loud gym, filled with 800 or so girls, was nothing less than amazing. The grace of God was at her side at all times, and she helped me to seek my faith in all situations.

Lesson #4: Live a Life You Would Be Proud Of

It's easy to wish the days away, and before you know it, be walking out of your high school and ready to graduate. For me, that is what had happened. I was so excited to get on to the next chapter of my life, that I was wishing precious days away. Now, all I want is to have them back — to be opening my locker once more, listening to announcements and saying morning prayer with my entire school, or cheering on the sports team. Mrs. Knittel had taught me that no matter what, it is so vital to live a life you would be proud to call your own. It always seemed as though she had one exciting story after another, and I realized that she wasted no time. She knew time was precious and she reveled in the opportunities. She got to experience life as it came, and cherish it. Hearing her talk about spending time with her family, eating good food, shopping with her daughter. It all made me want to change the way I had been living, and to make the most of the life I had ahead of me.

A hero, you can see, is someone that Mrs. Knittel is to me. To have had her in my life, to teach me the lessons I couldn't find anywhere else, changed me forever. Mrs. Knittel, known for her lively spirit and her gracious heart, is someone that I am lucky to have had the chance to know. So, when life gives you a hero, cherish them.