Something to look forward to by Leslie

Something to look forward to by Leslie - June 2021 Scholarship Essay

Sitting on the chair that I occupy on the days that I have precalculus from 12:05 to 12:55, I sigh in relief. Before heading into my zoom class I give myself a quick pat on the back and begin working on the warm-up assigned for that day. “ It was quite scary”, I think to myself. It was quite scary knowing that before this class I could never fully comprehend a math lesson or the people that had an interest in mathematics. Now as I log in to my precalculus zoom class I can see the bright smile of my teacher as she welcomes the profile pictures entering her classroom. How can a person smile at profile pictures and genuinely look as if the attendance is enough to let her know she can teach with confidence?

When I learned that I was going to be attending my junior year of high school online my immediate reaction was to freak out. The one subject that I struggled in the most was math and that was something I was going to be learning at home. The day came when I had to attend my first zoom class for precalculus. I was very scared and worried that I was not going to be able to pass this school year, let alone pass a subject that I was not confident in. As weeks turned into months and months turned into finished semesters I finally realized something. I had gotten through a whole school year with success and not only that I had gotten through the whole precalculus class confident every step of the way.

I could say that her teaching skills made it so that I did not struggle the whole school year with precalculus, but that would be a lie. Realistically I struggled and I will always struggle with math but she made math something I could look forward to. My teacher made it so that whenever I had her class I could ask her questions and wait for her to reply with genuine and useful answers that I could implement into my math skills. Her teaching skills were phenomenal to me and honestly, I felt comfortable making mistakes and learning from them in her class.

So now whenever someone asks me who my most influential teacher is, it would have to be none other than Ms. Matos. In the past, I would never believe someone if they told me that my most influential teacher was someone who taught math but I can proudly say that my present self agrees that Ms. Matos is phenomenal and life-changing. Her teaching methods, the way she presents herself, her genuine smile, the words that come out of her mouth smooth like butter, all of these aspects have influenced me substantially. Because of Ms. Matos, I can now say that math is something I look forward to in my distant but inevitable future.