Stories are written with the intention to touch other people’s lives and make a difference in their way of living. The story that touched my life is “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom. It tells the story of a young man who continues to face the challenges of life by keeping in mind all the lessons that his teacher taught him.
His teacher, Morrie, is the kind of teacher who gives lessons that go way past books and journals. He teaches about life and how you should live it. Like Mitch, I had a special teacher too. Her name was Ms. Parker. Ms. Parker was my high school math teacher. Unlike stereotypical math teachers, Ms.
Parker was not scary at all. She was very kind to us and she taught math without making it seem like a whole different language. She explained theorems clearly and she even taught us some new solving techniques. I never taught that I would actually enjoy math.
Noticing the vast improvement in my grades, Ms. Parker asked me to join the school’s math club. I was a bit hesitant at first because I was part of the basketball team and in my clique, joining an academic club meant social suicide. Ms. Parker was insistent and she told me that I really have potential. She even told me that I can be a part of the math team if I want to. I’ve never been the “smart one” in the family. I was always “the jock”.
Because of Ms. Parker, I was given the chance to break away from the stereotype that jocks care more about their games than their education. We care about our education but many people find it hard to believe because of our varsity jackets and our cheerleader girlfriends. I joined the math club anyway and I even qualified for the math team.
We traveled across the state to represent the school in math contests. Even if we only a won silver during regionals, I still feel like a winner. The experience made me re-think my future plans. Back then, I practiced basketball every day to get myself a basketball scholarship to support me through college but now, I actually have a shot at getting a scholarship because of my grades.
I learned that it takes a great teacher to help students realize their future. In my case, Ms. Parker made me realize that teaching is my calling. Being a teacher, I know, is not that easy.
The role of the teacher goes beyond checking test papers and drawing Cartesian planes. A teacher is a role model. A person who teaches the things that you can’t learn from books. My grade point average is not as impressive as the other applicants but my grades have improved greatly over the years.
Grades, I believe, are not the only basis of a person’s intelligence. I think that it is more important that I learned a lot from all my lessons and that I tried to incorporate them to my life. I wish to extend my love for education to other students by teaching them not only the lessons they need to pass their exams but also those things that they need to get through life. Like Morrie, I want to touch lives.
I want to make a difference in this world by helping other students live the good life.
