I Can Be Anything by Abby

I Can Be Anything by Abby - June 2021 Scholarship Essay

People change every 6 months so allow growth not only for yourself but also for others. That sentiment ringing out in the middle of my 6th period art class freshman year was not only unforgettable for me but also would forever change how I view the world and others.

What makes an influential teacher? Is it what they did for you? Perhaps a memory together or things they let you get away with in class? Those may be the answers for many of my peers however to those things I do not assign value worthy enough to call someone influential. My freshman year art teacher is someone I would just love to sit and extract his wisdom. Giving yourself space to challenge your own beliefs and allowing yourself grace to change and grow based on new information or experiences without embarrassment is the only way to truly become the best version of yourself. Not only allowing myself that grace but extending the same to others has given me so many new opportunities and friends that I would not have had if I had held on to my idea of who they were in the past and not allowed them to prove to me who they are now free from judgement or expectation. Through a single statement, I learned that in, of all places, a high school art class. As I have gotten older, I have continued to realize the truth of that statement in every area of my life.

While I do not have time to explain all the other gems I have found in our conversations, the most recent one is something I still think about to this day. One characteristic that differentiates a good teacher from a great or influential one is how much they care about their students. A good teacher is very knowledgeable about the topic they teach and can help you with things relating to it however a great teacher not only is knowledgeable in the content of their class but also is open to guiding students outside of that specific topic and in general life choices by imparting their own wisdom learned through their past failures and successes along the way. Although I am no longer in his art class, we still had a lengthy conversation about my career path and life choices. All our lives we hear “you can do or be anything you want”, however I do not think people truly realize the weight of that statement. As my teacher pointed out, we all limit ourselves even if we don’t realize it. I truly can be anything I want to be and am capable of so much more than I currently think I am.

We all have favorite teachers throughout our academic career however that does not automatically make them influential. Words are very powerful and a truly influential teacher knows how to use them to shape how their students view the world and interact with it.