Dine. Drift. Dream.

If I knew two days ago what I know now, I’d want to take a moment to tell you how much your being in my life has meant to me.  Junior High is a tough age when a general lack of maturity and unease about the gap between adolescence and adulthood makes for, quite frankly, a lot of cranky 12 year olds. 

I remember your red Mitsubishi at tennis practice and your kindness in coaching what can only be described as the least athletic team of female athletes that still went out for sports.  You turned no one away and it was a more social than competitive team, a perfect place for you.   When we learned you’d be moving from 7^th to 8^th grade with our class, there was collective excitement on the faces of my classmates.  I mean really, over Language Arts!

You were the first adult in my life that saw through the façade, and a few well placed words at a young age, made all the difference.  My appreciation, like so many others, stems from your ability to make me feel like your equal.  You didn’t talk down to your students nor did you wear the face of judgment like so many of your peers.  I believe you genuinely found something to appreciate about every one of your students, and because of that, mutual appreciation was natural.

I have always enjoyed reconnecting through the years and I am deeply saddened those days are over.  Through Facebook and the stories I have heard I know I am just one person of so many who is hurting today over the loss of a great teacher and a better human.  I take some solace in the fact that you knew, on some level, the scale of students you influenced for the better.

If I can impact even a fraction of the people you did, in a way that brings down barriers, grows minds and makes people feel understood and not alone, I will consider my life a success.