Who was my inspiration??

The following post is a letter/email I sent to my 5th grade teacher:

Tanya Snyder-

My name is Amber Hanson.   I used to be one of your students when you worked at Kitsap Lake Elementary in Bremerton, WA as a 5th grade teacher (1998-1999).  My younger sister Sabrina was also in your 5th grade class, but the following year. 

Although you may not necessarily remember me, I have something important to tell you.

As much as it saddens me that i had not kept contact with you over the last few years, its wonderful that i was able to find you now.  I am currently a teacher in the Bering Strait School District in Gambell, AK (on Saint Lawrence Island). 

You made a difference.

Whenever someone ever asks me who has influenced me the most in my life...your name always swam in the back of my mind.  You may not have realized it at the time (or you might have, i really don’t know) but my home life back then was not great at all. As a result, I didn’t care about school, family or life. 

When i entered into the doors of Kitsap Lake Elementary in September 1998 it appeared that this school was no different from the last, that this would be just another year, just another grade, and you would be just another teacher.

But you weren't.

You saw something in me back then...that i didn’t see in myself.  Unknowingly you created an escape for me.  I used to stay after school to help you set things up for the next day (some may call that a 'teacher's pet').  You also helped me with my science project that year...(we looked closely at how to siphon water from one container to another). 

Through your actions and through your words, it was evident that you honestly believed in me, and as much as i had always told myself that i couldn’t do anything right, that i was stupid, and that school didn’t matter, you were there to tell me different. 

I entered the 6th grade with a totally different outlook.  I loved school and i believed in myself and my ability to succeed.  I believed that i was different, that i was smart and that i mattered.  Although my home life still didn’t improve (it wasn’t until my senior year of high school that anything changed) I had an escape from the tragedies of growing up.

I just graduated with my Bachelors degree in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education and moved up to Gambell Alaska for my first teaching job.  So far this year has been a wonderful experience, and i am so happy i chose to become a teacher. 

My biggest goal in life is to make difference in a child's life, to let them know that they are unique, that they are smart, that in spite of outside circumstances, they really can succeed and make a difference as well.

In my life, you did just this, and it really has inspired me...every day of my life.  I only hope that i can become half as great of a teacher as you were back then (and probably still are).

Thank you so much for believing in me. You have no idea how much it meant to me.

Amber