The writer I am today

For those of you that don't know, I enjoy reading and writing. Alot of my love for literature comes from years and years of AMAZING English teachers. There have been some teachers in my past who I know I will remember for the rest of my life because they have seriously impacted me in some way.

Kindergarten- Mrs. Monroe. She put me in a special alphabet/reading class because I was incredibly stubborn and refused to learn anything. This mentality continued for years, all the way through 3rd grade. They straight up thought I had a learning disability. I wouldn't say Mrs. Monroe is one of the good teachers. She treated me like an idiot, and I still remember that to this day. Way nice lady, though.

4th grade- Mrs. Witters. Gave me very strict daily and weekly goals. She treated me like I was a smart girl. I remember hating her soooo much, but by the end of the school year I was reading things way beyond my reading level. I read one particular ghost book over and over when I was in elementary school. It's the first time I realized that beautiful words can scare you. I found it online a month or so ago, bought it, and YES IT IS STILL WAY SCARY.

7th&8th grade- Mrs. Streshley is the first teacher to really challenge my skill as a writer. In her class we would write entire essays in half an hour, and turn them in with zero editing time. She is the first person who taught me how to read poetry, how to analyze it, how to understand it. By the time I left middle school I had read huge freakin' tomes like Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera (I think I was a better reader then. I tried to reread Phantom of the Opera and then gave up). My favorite books to read over and over were The Scarlet Pimpernel (oh the romance!) and Ella Enchanted (oh the imagery!).

Junior and Senior year- Mrs. Hale. Not gonna lie, no one really liked Mrs. Hale. She was fidgety and awkward and tried waaaay too hard. But I freaking LOVED Mrs. Hale. You know why? Because that awkward lady could teach. If you can train me to understand Heart of Darkness, connect it to a pressing social issue, and then write a three page paper on it, I don't care what you're personality is like. She helped me get 5s on my AP exams. I know if I had any other English teacher those last two years of high school, I would NOT have been prepared for university writing classes. She introduced me to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and the entire world of magical realism, which has been my one true literature love ever since.

BYU- Ronald G. Woods- Not only is the man hilarious, but he is a talented author and gifted mentor. He put up with me not sleeping, not coming to class, not turning in work, and still found time to see something worthwhile. I turned in some CRAZY crap in that class (most of it I posted up in this blog), crap so crazy I debated if I would get in trouble since it is a religious school. BUT NAY! He loved all of it! He even made copies and passed them around! His critiques were at times brutal but always honest, and I still get friendly emails from him once in a while. He not only wants me to be a writer, but really thinks I could do it and do it well.

Oh, and he just gave me a tip about the sweetest on-campus job. I don't want to jinx it so I'm not going to blog about it quite yet.

Whew. I just got a little teary eyed thinking about all of these people who made me the writer I am today. I am going to write them all thank you notes right now.