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Thankful for Growing Up on the Move.

An Army Brats Tale.

By Niecee MayPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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Thankful for Growing Up on the Move.
Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

My how school has changed over the years. Twenty years is a lot of time for change to take place, and it should continue to grow and move forward. There is one thing I hope never changes, and that is teachers. Teachers help shape the world in ways some people never even realized. We all have at least one someone we can say helped shape us into the humans we are today. Someone who showed us an interest we didn't even know we had, someone who cared enough to hear us out, and help raise us up. This someone could be a family member, family-friend, or sometimes even a complete stranger. Often this someone is an amazing teacher.

I have two such amazing teachers. Hero's in their own rights and very deserving of thanks and gratitude. Unfortunately growing up in a military household these "Thank You's" are unheard, unknown, and missed. In a military household we move so much and often do not realize this in time to thank someone before we move again. Add in my innate ability to forget names but remember faces and situations, and it gets even harder.

I was always shy and reserved when I was younger thanks to all the moving, and as such I often talked to my teachers more than the other students. I am sure there are several more that I could thank for various reasons, but these two stand out even nearly 20 years later. The first is an Art teacher, I wish I could remember the school and state/country/city we were living in at the time, however it is very far back unfortunately. The second is an amazing US History teacher, who I had my Junior year, (11th grade, just one year before high school graduation). I should not have even been in his class and he knew it, but we will get to that soon.

To my very special Art Teacher, I wish I could remember your name, unfortunately I was so very young. I know you were my art teacher, because I remember getting excited for art class everyday we had it, knowing I could talk more to you. You saw my love for drawing, neat lines and color. You opened a whole new world for me that initial day. I realistically remember so very little from this time in my life but you stand out. The way you made me feel heard as a child. I remember you asking me questions about art and drawing and then talking to me about how maths, science, and art are all connected, explaining how. It took many days and loads of lessons to get through it all, but you were always available to me if I needed you to be. I hope you know you touched my life and most likely so many more lives and I hope you continued to do so for as long as you could.

I fell in love with Maths and Science because of you and if not for you I may never have known my potential! I have always considered you my hero because if not for you leading me into a love of something I am actually good at, I couldn't have ever done half the things I have in life. I wish I could have gone further in some areas, but that wasn't your fault nor my own.

You opened doors I never would have imagined. When I joined the Navy, it was my grades in Maths and Science that got me the job I was going for. My love and ability in Art, Maths, and Science is what got me into Vehicles and engineering. The things I've done in these kinds of fields are all thanks to you and your amazing ability to make a small child feel heard, important, seen and cared about. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

To my US History teacher, you sir are amazing, I do hope you have either retired and enjoying a beach somewhere, or are still teaching, because you went above and beyond for me and clearly loved your job. You couldn't figure out why they placed a Junior in a Freshman Class so you looked into it to find out the school insisted I take the class even though I clearly didn't need it. You made it possible for me to graduate when the school was making life difficult. You saw how I learned and adjusted things for me to help my grades because that's what being a good teacher is. You talked to me and learned how I needed to be helped. I couldn't have asked for better.

I remember you handing out tests one day and watched you pull my test page from the opposite end of the stack from what you had handed the rest of the kids (everyone else form the top and mine from the bottom or vice a versa) and I remember wondering what that was about. I finished the test and happen to see several of the freshmen still taking their test, this was unusual for me in a US History class, so I was curious. I looked at a few of the tests and noticed theirs all appeared to be identical but mine wasn't like theirs. I started paying attention more often to the test hand out and the rest of the classes test pages.

Turned out mine was basically the same test, but it was worded in such a way that I could answer correctly. You took time to learn me and my oddities and created a test specifically so I could get an A in US History. You understood that not all humans learn the same way and that we all have different needs but also knew I did really comprehend the information and found a way to prove it. I appreciate you so much. you gave me an outlook on humanity that I cherish daily. You taught me not just US History, but that being different didn't mean dumb or broken. That not having a good grasp of keeping dates of battles connected to names of generals doesn't mean I couldn't understand our past. You sir have always been one of my hero's. Thank you for everything you do!

Humanity
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About the Creator

Niecee May

I'm a Mom of two boys, and I have a love of literature. I'm an open book and love reading and writing. I started writing around age 10. I like the term Dragon Mom as I hoard Books.

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