On a whim

Last night I began thinking; if that's not scary enough, I began thinking about my high school years. I was very much into the extra-curricular aspects of school and less in the educational part.

I was a very difficult student. My teachers often complained to me that I had the potential to be a "straight A" student instead of the "A-B" student that I was content to be. I always let their speeches go in one ear and out the other. I'm happy being a "B" student, why can't they be happy for me, I often wondered.

When I got in college, my attitude changed because I found that I HAD to apply myself. Unlike me high school teachers, the professors didn't mind giving you a failing grade. They didn't stay up nights worrying about how they could motivate me to realize my full potential. While I was in college, I made the Dean's List twice and was inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda, which was a national academic honor society.

Over the years, I have thought about my high school teachers, and it touches me when I realize the compassion that teachers have for their students. All too often teachers are criticized and not given the thanks that they deserve. I decided to take action.

On a whim, I Googled my old high school's name and found their website. I looked in the staff directory of the high school, and was delighted to see that many of my teachers were still teaching there. Perfect! I sent them an emotional email, thanking them for all they did for me, never expecting to hear a reply from any of them. After all, it has been seventeen years since I darkened the doorways of the high school; there was no way they would remember me.

Later this morning, I checked my email; there was a reply from each one of them. They told me that they remembered me, and that they were, and always had been, proud of me. I was overcome with emotion.

We idolize people such as Madonna, but the true heroes are the teachers.