Indirectly Helpful by Samantha

Indirectly Helpful by Samantha - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

Without actually retaining any useful information from my 8th grade English teacher, I have fully analyzed and broke down the components of his teaching career (as well as aspects of his personal life). With this information, my young and bitter 14-year-old mind came to the conclusion: I will not be like him.
I could start this from the beginning, but there's not much to say, and, frankly, it's boring. I'm referring to his life. Not my 8th grade school year. I'll describe his occupation (I assume nothing has changed since): a public middle school teacher who works in the Las Vegas educational system (I cannot emphasize enough the sad state of working in Las Vegas as a teacher) with a side job as a drama teacher. Call it a modest lifestyle, but considering this is a vulgar and thin-skinned man, that's putting it kindly.
I can't figure exactly why he was out to get me, but he took passive-aggressiveness to a whole new level. I believe he was threatened by the "impudence" of my actions. Really all I did was back out of a musical we were starting in drama club. I saw ahead of time the absolute failure of this play (also I can't sing); I knew it wasn't for me. I was the first to quit the play and soon everyone else followed (probably for similar reasoning), and, thus, the torture began. If I wasn't looking at him, I wasn't paying attention, or if I was called on once, clearly I wanted to be called on again. My answers were never clear enough or deep enough. Of course, I was the only one he had a problem with.
Beyond his petty nature, I realized the sad and pitiful man he truly was (is). The fact that he went out of his way -every day, five days a week- to pick on some teenage girl showed that he had severe emotional problems. These problems developed, most likely, from an oppressed childhood home; perhaps his father never showed affection or respect for him. Furthermore, the act of "accomplishing" ceased to exist at all due to his lack of guidance and direction; therefore, he had no other choice but to settle as a meager low-life and bother young girls.
Thankfully, I've managed to be acquainted with quality teachers in my life as well as despicable ones, but this lazily concocted sob-story is one of my biggest motivators! Regardless of what one's been through, striving for improvement can lead to bigger and better results. My 8th grade teacher did not do that, even I can admit he had some potential, but he chose to settle. In the end, I learned the best lesson of all: don't sell yourself short.