"Have a Blessed Life" by Marissa

"Have a Blessed Life" by Marissa - July 2014 Scholarship Essay

In high school, I came across many different teachers with many different personalities. However, there was one teacher specifically whom I felt like really encouraged me to continue on to college. Mr. Charles Fanning was my biology teacher my freshman year of high school, at that time we were only freshman who honestly thought he was a cool teacher only because he told us cool stories. Because of the program I was a part of at my high school, it required me to take his Forensic Science class my senior year. That was the year that the “college lecture science class” kicked in. Mr. Fanning continued to tell us cool stories however the only difference was that he was telling us reality. Every day, he’d give us his wise words then would continue on with his lecture and lab instructions, but on the last day of school, it was a little different.

On the last day of school Mr. Fanning decided that he wanted to share one last story with us before he sent us off to our three day weekend before graduation. It was an emotional moment as he was trying to not cry in front of students, but we were all already crying from the thought of having to say goodbye to one of our favorite teachers. After Mr. Fanning finished telling his story he went around the room to certain students and said the thing he admired most about them.

Earlier in the year, he made a seating chart based on the student’s grades, the ones with an A sat in the back of the room and the ones with an F sat in the front so they could pay more attention. I was fortunate to have had almost an A+ in the class, therefore, I sat in the back. Well on the last day of school, when he was going around saying what he admired, I got a little nervous. Since I sat in the back, and I am a fairly small person, I didn’t think I would have anything that was admirable to him. But then he stopped, looked straight at me and said, “You are going to be at the top of this class.” At that moment, every single person in the room turned around and looked at me. Some shocked, some smiling, others stone-faced for who knows what reason. He then continued on saying, “You have great determination, and I hope that once you continue on to school, you’re the one to bring back things to make this program better.” After that he smiled and went on to the next person.

Since freshman year, when the bell for the end of class would ring, Mr. Fanning did not let us go until he got the chance to say, “Have a blessed day,” and it was always the highlight of class, not because class was over but because we all knew he truly meant what he said. On the last day of school, when the final bell rang, he stopped us all and said, “I’m not going to tell you to have a blessed day… but to have a blessed life,” and in that moment everyone got up from their seats slowly and waved goodbye to the only teacher who really cared about how we were doing, and how the rest of our lives went.

Ever since the first day I had Mr. Fanning, he always encouraged people to do better, because he believed in us. It wasn’t until senior year did I actually really get to know him, but all throughout senior year he helped me, the best that he could. Even right before I graduated he asked me to keep in touch and send him ideas of what he could do to better the program he was in charge of at the school. Because of that he made me want to continue my education, because he believed I could make something better than it was already.