Freewrite

A lot of people have teachers who have significantly impacted their lives, helped them discover the career they want to pursue, or helped them develop a specific talent or academic skill, but to be honest I never did.  I was always a very quiet kid that okay in school.  Sometimes I struggled, sometimes I was ahead but I never stuck out so I just went to school, did my work, and that was it.  I never had any kind of real relationship with any of my teachers, but eventually I did meet someone that had a similar impact on my life.  

When I was seventeen and I got my first job at Staples I hardly ever even spoke.  The only reason I got the job in the first place was because my dad’s friend was an assistant manager there and he convinced the general manager to higher me, even though she didn’t want to.  I was extremely quiet, afraid of my own shadow, and had no idea how I was going to work in this new place with all these new people.  The only thing I had going for me was that I was hardworking, until I met Sondra, another assistant manger.  For some reason Sondra seemed to understand me and even when she didn’t she was understanding.  She explained things to me in ways that I understood them and she didn’t get mad at me when she had to explain them again…and again…and again.  She quickly realized that it probably wasn’t going to benefit anyone having me be a cashier so she moved me to office supplies.  She taught me everything and she quickly realized that I was willing to work hard and I liked to learn new things so she taught me so much more than I was even supposed to know.  She listened to me when I tried to talk to her and I stuttered through every question I asked her, all five million of them.  I started talking to Sondra, then I started talking to other people I worked with, and then I started talking to customers.  Sondra was the first person in my life that made me feel like I wasn’t stupid.  She was the first person that saw potential in me and believed in me.  She convinced me to go to college when I wasn’t sure that I could do it, and when I hated it and I wanted to quit she convinced me to not give up, and I promised her I would graduate.  Now I work at another store while I’m at school and they are always so impressed by all the things I know how to do and how I take initiative to help other people do their jobs and that is because of Sondra.  Sondra believed in me, made me believe in me, and taught me how much of an impact being patient and understanding can have on a person’s life.  Sondra’s last day at my store was Monday and saying bye to her was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done but she inspired me to finish school, believe in myself, and to pay it forward.

            Sondra made me realize how much of an impact teachers can have on students.  Even though she was my boss at work, not a teacher, she played a very similar role and I now understand that kind of relationship.  Someday as a teacher I hope that I can help my students in the same way that Sondra helped me, because her simple kindness, patience, and understanding changed my life and made me a better person inside and outside of Staples.