Death and a Teacher by Adrienne

Death and a Teacher by Adrienne - March 2013 Scholarship Essay

我坐在那里。我能感觉到我的腿上的起鸡皮疙瘩的感觉s as I silently shivered and looked around to check if anyone saw my awkward gesture. I was stuck in a gated building; not a soul in the room I knew. I looked at the colorful walls. The posters seem to pop because the walls were so pale and bare. The one poster that I looked at every day for the rest of the year stated "Do not make excuses, make improvements." This is a phrase that I shall forever live by. That day was the day I met PJ Stephens, my eighth grade math teacher. I was not the best student in middle school. Especially because I went to three different schools. It took a lot for me to pay attention and I never thought school was important. The one thing constantly on my mind was making friends and making sure I always said the right thing. Mr. Stephens was not just the best teacher I have ever had, but he was the one adult mentor I have ever had. He not only taught me the value of X and Y, but the value of life. I looked forward to fourth period every day. Most students were concerned about the pizza they were about to devour during lunch. I, on the other hand, was excited to learn about the daily lesson that this man had to teach us. On September 11th of that year, only a month after school had started, we were given the news of one of our schoolmates passing away. That day was a blur for the most part. I can't help but to think that it's hard to remember because I was in such shock. I had just spent hours of the day before swinging at the park with Jason and then he was gone.. He always wore a baseball hat and sunglasses. These white sunglasses shaped his face perfectly and Mr. Stephens would take him from him every day. I got to math that day and just stared at Jason's seat. It was empty and looked so lonely. Mr. Stephens could tell that I was bothered and pulled me aside when the bell rang. I will never forget the words he shared with me "Adrienne, I know that times like these are so hard to grasp because you see everyone else living their life. You see them laughing and smiling but you feel like you can't.. It's okay to feel happy even in a time of mourning. It may feel like you are betraying him, but you need to celebrate his life. Wear a Cowboys' football jersey and eat a burrito. Do the things that he would smile about if he saw you doing it." He was right. It was the strangest thing to see everyone else move on and be able to laugh and go out to dinner without feeling sick to your stomach. I cringed for so long when I would see the Facebook posts from the people that made fun of Jason. They regret it now and that brought me peace. I was hoping that they learned their lesson. Mr. Stephens isn't the most influential teacher that I have had when it comes to education and school, he is the most influential when it comes to life. Life is so important and not everyone gets to live it right. After that year, he decided to begin teaching at Deer Valley Middle School in the Special Needs Department. He wanted to help the children that had obstacles to overcome every day. I am not 17 years old and a Freshman and Estrella Mountain Community College. Not a day passes by where I do not live my life the way I want. I spend my time doing what I need to do in order to become successful in my future. Mr. Stephens would be proud of how far I've come. Every time there is a death I need to deal with, I think of his words and begin to relive that moment when I came to the realization that I do not need to make excuses, I need to make improvements. Not only in my own life, but I will change lies of others just like Mr. Stephens did for me.