Lessons Learned by Bev

Lessons Learned by Bev - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

From the time I stepped into Preschool and Kindergarten they started teaching me how to count and how to write my name. Those lessons were crucial, yes but they just taught me the basics. Of course reading and spelling lessons came next, but again they were just the basics. I continued through school just learning the basics, but that all changed when I got to high school.
Now before we get into the next part of the story let me tell you about the best teacher I’ve ever had the pleasure of learning from, Mr. Miller. The first time I saw this petite man covered in University of Illinois gear, he had his own intense energy. Little did I know that this tiny man wouldn’t stop jumping around and being weird for the next four years. This energy he had included overwhelming positivity, even if our team was losing. Not only that but he was and is the most caring and passionate person on the faculty in my high school, and I say that with great confidence. I think you can see the picture now.
Freshman year of high school and Mr. Miller wastes no time in teaching me life lessons. The first being I can accomplish new obstacles like Marching band. I can still remember how terrified I was the first week of band camp under the sweltering sun. I was scared out of my mind because I didn’t know anyone, trying to remember the fundamentals, and trying to impress all of the older students. The second week of camp comes around and Mr. Miller passes out a tower of paper to each of us. I stand there dumbfounded as I look down at a graph of the football field covered in black dots. This tower turned into drill sets as he started explaining how to read the “Marching Band” language, and slowly but surely the dots started to form shapes and pictures. Pretty soon I was able to find my spot on the field without any help! By the time our first game rolled around I was feeling confident in the skills I had gained in the short time over the summer. After the game Mr. Miller came around and told us, freshman, how proud he was and that he knew we could do it. One of the many times he would teach us we could do anything.
Now let’s jump ahead to senior year. The summer before senior year started, I was diagnosed with a form of epilepsy. Dealing with that changed my world but that’s a story for a different day. So managing the medication was really weighing down on me, but Mr. Miller was right there ready to help. Throughout the rest of the football/marching band season he would hold my medication for me and remind me to take it right before halftime. I can’t put into words that demonstrate how thankful I am for that alone because he helped me feel like it wasn’t such a bad thing. Not only then but continuously through the year he kept checking up on me. Within this year I would be able to win Division I and third place in my room with the Jazz band, which I wouldn’t have been able to do without Mr. Miller. I would’ve never been able to make it through such a rough patch in my life and accomplish the things I did if it wasn’t for him guiding me. He taught me to persevere through such a life turner and to roll with the punches, so I can move on to better things. This is the most important thing he has taught me and I will keep it with me forever.
So, lessons have been taught and learned by a tiny man that I was put back by on the first day of band camp. Mr. Miller taught me to roll with what life throws at you because I can accomplish anything no matter how difficult. I will never forget the many lessons he has taught me for the four short years I was lucky enough to be in his classes.