I'm an overly-dramatic-eighteen-year-old girl. I get mad over insignificant things, I laugh at things that really aren't funny, and I'm over dramatic. Most adults talk to me about college or they talk to me because they saw something my mom posted about me on Facebook. Other than these two reasons, it seems that adults tend to steer clear of teenagers in general, but you didn't.
You came into my life at the beginning of my senior year. I was stressed out 95% of the time and when I wasn't stressed out it seemed that I would find something to stress over. At the beginning, I was unsure of you. You were unsure of me. I had a recently had year of heartbreak. Not from my first love. My biological father and I had some troubles getting along and we went months without communicating. I had a close friend that was hit and killed riding his bike to school one day.
Needless to say, I was depressed, anxious, and heartbroken. You looked past all my flaws emotionally and physically and took me under your wing. You never realized what I had been through until I had an anxiety attack in front of you. I talked to you about everything that had happened and was happening. You gave me advice when I needed it and you listened when I didn't need it. You showed me selflessness, compassion, kindness, and love. You taught me how to become the best version of myself, and you reminded me how strong I was. You taught me how to trust again. You showed me the good in people. I learned how to appreciate the little things again like: a child's giggle, the smell of fresh-cut grass, and the warmth you get from receiving a hug. But I must say the most valuable thing you ever did for me was believing in me when nobody else did.
You never had to do these things. You had your own family to worry about and your own problems. You had your good days and your bad days just like me, but you chose to listen to me and you chose to do the same thing with many other people my age. You were not only my friend and mentor, but you were my teacher. Your job description was just to teach a foreign language to your students, and that is what a good teacher does. But a great teacher doesn't just teach the lesson that state requires, they teach you other things about yourself and others. That's what you did for all of your students, not just me.
So I want to thank you. Not for only teaching me something that I love, but also for making me the person I am today. I know I can speak for all of your students when I say that we love you and we hope that we've touched your life like you've touched ours.
Sincerely,
An overly-dramatic-eighteen-year-old girl
