Report Card for the Teacher by Maylene

Report Card for the Teacher by Maylene - June 2021 Scholarship Essay

Now, this may sound like a report on a person but it is not. This is to embrace the one person in my school life that has affected my life by opening my eyes. Have you ever had that one teacher that just changes your perspective in life? It is understandable to say no as there are hundreds and millions of teachers all around the world, and they can influence your life when you do not even know it. I was lucky enough to experience this one person that not only taught me a subject but inspired me to be the best and to not give up. You may wonder, who can this teacher be? Surprisingly it was my high school history teacher who became one of the most inspirational and motivational teachers. She made me see school not as one of life’s pathways, but as an experience to explore and make memories.
Yes, my history teacher taught me about American history and how it affects us today, but she also showed us that she cared about her students and built connections with them. I can say for myself that not many teachers try to get involved in a students life, but my history teacher became involved in our lives in order to help our mental states during stressful situations. Funnily, she was struggling herself as she had just had a baby. She would complain as we do about how life is a struggle but we just have to work through it and somehow, everyone in her class can just speak freely without being afraid of being ourselves and being open. My history teacher often tells us to remember that school is school, in the future, you do not want to regret not making more memories and just staring at a textbook and not going out to have fun.
The one thing that inspires me the most is, she tells us all these stories about how when she was younger she would just wing everything and yet she graduated Berkeley. It is crazy to think sometimes that you can have a life out of school because of all the competition nowadays for colleges and further accomplishments. She says that yes, it was a struggle for her but the best thing to do is to remember that you should have a life yourself, away from the books. It is hard to understand that myself, but seeing how she is successful and happy in what she is doing inspires me to think about myself to be happy in what I am doing. My history teacher became my biggest inspiration as she inspires me to do things because I want to, not because I have to.