The Influence of a Teacher

Do you remember your favorite teacher or teachers? What makes them your favorite? What makes them your least favorite? 

The teachers I have had, all taught me something I needed to know. Of course as a much younger person, I didn't correlate any of my experiences with my teachers as something I needed to know at that time. I just thought I had cool ones and not so cool ones. 

Teachers have been entering and exiting our lives for the majority of our lived experience. And everyone we have encountered has been our teacher in some way, not just the ones in formal k-12 education. 

This is why recurring cycles happen. Until I figured out the areas of myself that needed extra attention, I was still meeting the same person with the same lesson, just from a different human.

I will never forget Adam. When I was a middle school teacher about a lifetime ago, Adam and his friend were in the same section of my Spanish I class. The two were complete opposites, but they tried not to be. One was the class clown that typically started trouble; Adam was the class clown that wanted to fit in. One day, I had enough with their shenanigans in my class and had their schedules switched to where they would be in separate classes. Adam came up to me during a passing period one day, and was furious with me. I told him, "Get an A in my class next semester, and you can be in any section you want." He puffed away after saying to me, "That's impossible!" The semester went smoothly with Adam separate from his friend. And by the end of the semester, he earned that A. One day during class, I went over to him and let him know. He tried to hold back a smile after I told him how proud of him I was. And after telling him he could be in any section, he decided it was best to stay in the class he was in, without his friend. 

Examples.

Reminders.

I will never forget the teacher I had who taught me to value my own worth. After several experiences with different humans trying to teach me the same thing, this one made it clear enough for me to end a cycle, permanently. The influence of a great teacher can never be erased. He not only was the catalyst that taught me to truly love myself, to do for myself, and to live for myself, but he also left an everlasting impression that afforded me with the most amazing daughter. Moving forward, I will never allow a teacher to trivialize the expectations I have that would jeopardize what I perceive to be a sustainably healthy life. He taught me this! His influence has been, by far, the greatest everlasting impression that I will hold on to as a reminder of the boundaries and assertiveness I lacked, but have since established as impenetrable firewalls.

I love and appreciate all of my teachers. They have all been distinctive in their own ways. They have all given me insightful pieces of the wisdom that have allowed me to love my life the way I do today, in peace. 




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