So… My original intention for today was to do a
“teacher’s day” kind of writing, basically to talk about those teachers and
instructors that changed my life, those whom I’ve got to be thankful for because
I am what I am because of them. The
great men and women that helped me discover my Element. That sort of thing. Well, I am truly glad to
say that I discovered that my list of teachers to be thankful at is looooong;
so I’ll do a mini-series (yeah, cos we all know how good I am with those,
right? Based on the picture thing that I was supposed to do like in February?)
Well, I’m sorry (I’m so sorry), but I never did find the pictures from
Chihuahua, and I still have a long waiting list of to-do’s, both in my room
before I make it back to London, and in my writing business (wink wink).
Well
(again), so I begin this mini-series of five weeks; one for Tappan Middle
School, one for high school in Colegio España; one for International Relations
at the UAD, one for my lovely Masters in Creative Writing at Newcastle, and one
for diverse instructors at many different workshops taken over the years...
So I begin
with Tappan Middle School, not because the previous studies don’t count, but
because we’ve all agreed by now that my emotional, psychological and creative
awakening began at age eleven, when I lived in Ann Arbor and the trees and the
snow and the quirkiness of the people I met there made me realize that I was a
witch and I must forever write about witchy things. It is no coincidence that it was at age
eleven; it was no coincidence that I was in Ann Arbor; it was definitely no
coincidence that I met the people I met.
I grew in way too many levels, probably even quicker than could have
been intended. I met my best
friend/sister forever Hillery Keefer there, and she alone is a blessing heavy
enough for me to always, always, ALWAYS be in love with Ann Arbor.
Thankfully
though, she was not the only blessing, but instead I also walked away and into
adulthood with the frank teachings of a high number of amazing teachers of all
areas and subjects. Ok, granted, I have
mostly always been a teacher’s pet, so I guess it was too little to ask for me
to thank only one or two of five people in this day. I go above and beyond and I (virtually) hug
those that helped shape the creative, magical and eclectic Sandra I am today.
First on my
list, not because I have any order (because I cannot really put any order of
preference to this fantastic people), but because her name is in front of my
face basically all the time, it Mrs Bailey.
Every time I walk down the spirits section of a store I think about her;
every time I stand at a bar to ask for my order I think about her; every time I
take a swig of the creamy stuff, I think about her! Wait, this all makes me sound like a
wino... Nope, I think I’ve had Baileys
like no more than fifteen times in all my life (it’s still one of my favourite
drinks, and I could probably add to that another 5 with the cocktails and/or
hot chocolates I’ve had at other times), but hey, the brand is like all around
us! And how lucky for this amazing Math
teacher to be brought into my mind so constantly, because it also makes me
remember that there was a time, a year of my life, when I was actually good at
math, and all because this woman did not let me lose faith in my ability to
understand the subject; then my classes turned to algebra and other funny
sections of mathematics which I don’t even know if I could work out now after
almost fifteen years of none of it, but what I can very faithfully say of Mrs
Bailey is that not only did she make me trust myself in math, but also gave me
a huge amount of confidence regarding my self-value, which I think is what gave
me the strength I needed to turn my life right-side up at age 23... It was her and Mrs Dolan who pushed me like
that, along with Mrs Pedley and Mr Smith.
I don’t think they knew they were working together, they just gave me
each their homework...
Mrs Dolan
was the first teacher I met at school, and she turned out to be my English teacher
during 7th grade; she was the one who picked up on my creative
abilities, and later Mrs Watts agreed, during 8th grade in Language
Arts... I never had as close a relationship with her as with Mrs D, but what I
got from both is that I should never be afraid to explore the courses of my pen
and my ink; I did poems and short
stories and ads and stuff for both classes, along with reading a ton of books
for those classes as well as for others (and for which I *also* won awards,
thank you very much), and they both fed my creativity and inspiration by giving
us tasks that would make us twist and explore and renew the threads of
Literature.
Mrs Pedley
and Mr Smith were my ESL teachers both years. Yes, I took two ESL classes each
year I was at Tappan. I did not take
History either year. No, I did not need
it, languagelly speaking. Yes, I was
cheating. And yes, I think they both
knew I was cheating. But we all knew it
was for the greater good: they induced
me into a creative coma, in which none of the other classes touched me, at
least for most of the time, and where once I was finished with the exercises or
homework and stuff, then I could just devote myself to Cassandra’s world, and
thus a great chunk of the original stories were created, the base story for
what I am trying to write now. A great
deal of that was shown through drawings, thus the initial confusion as to where
to direct my creative life; but creation is creation and the story is
fundamentally the same, which is what counts for the roots of Pentacle. Now, Mrs Pedley has an added point here that
makes her my favourite teacher ever in a way that no other teacher can compare,
even if I love them and thank them all the same: she made me read Little Women
13 times while I was in Ann Arbor. It
was actually a bet... the only bet I
have ever made with any teacher, and because I was such a goody two shoes, I
was content with the mere fact of actually winning by reading the novel (both
parts one and two) twelve times since the moment I told her that I had just
finished reading it for the second time in my life (at age eleven), and she
answered that she had read it 14 times all in all. I told her that I could match her fourteen
within the two years we’d be in the city, so we made a bet of it and I won,
simple as that. Now, I think I had
already mentioned that I cannot read Little Women ever again... this is why, hehehe.
But outside
of my Fantastic Four of Tappan teachers there are others, such as Mrs Watts,
that inspired me in other smaller or bigger ways. Ms Fitzgibbon, for instance, my first
Homeroom teacher during 7th grade, and the most beautiful woman in
the world at that time for me (she looked a bit like Meg Ryan, so she was that
“I want to be like you when I grow up” for me), extremely positive and
energetic and funny; an amazing role model for all of us. There was also Mrs Brannon, who in terms of
funniness was always on top and showed us all in class and outside that it’s
always best to be yourself. There were also Mr Lillie and Mr Horning, the two
PE teachers we had at different times of the year... and man how I drove them crazy! They knew that sports were never my cup of
tea, and still they gave me continuous support for me to do my best during gym
class.
Then there
was Mr Link... sigh oh sigh oh
sigh... he was the first “older man” I
ever loved. It’s costing me an arm and a leg to write this, but what the hell
was he back then anyway? Erm, 23?? Just
fresh out of school, basically. Geez
shmeez, 23 is loooong gone for me. (Well, not *that* long...). Ah, the working mind of a
twelve-year-old... yeah, he was my 8th
grade natural Sciences teacher. Oh, and
for when Iar comes out, the scene when Cassandra drops her purse on her head is
completely true. The rest is made up, but I actually introduced the character
of Mr Kirby only just so I could use the purse incident at some point. Back when it was all lovely and bright I
would have liked to have Chris O’Donell play that role, but given that he was
recently referred to as “Oh, that older guy on that cop show” by one of my
friends a few weeks ago (and thus giving me the time-induced shock of my life),
I think it is time to start looking at the new arrivals in case I ever go like
“Yes, let’s sign this paper so that my stories make into screen”.
Also Mrs
Aquino, who was the teacher of the same subject but during 7th year,
and Mrs Minus and Mrs Richmond, whose classes I didn’t take (erm, History,
actually, lol) but who were always supportive and generous towards me, as was
most of the staff, really...
And last
but not at all least, the man of the hour, the man of the lizard car, Mr
McGilliard! I kid you not, he had a car
covered in plastic lizards, and it even made the paper every once in a
while... he was, of course my Arts
teacher... and with him I learned that I am as no good with my hands as I am
good with my words; but even more importantly, I learned the importance of having
a certain something to be your trademark, that little thing that people will
recognize you for, wherever you go, whatever distance you travel. Yes, apparently I went for book-lover, even
though I tried my best with my hair as rainbow or my jewellery or my
fantasy/superhero decorated notebooks.
And frankly, book lover is the best thing I could have achieved!
So, off I
go for today... It’s super late and my
original intent was to upload this early in the day, but too many things are
coming together and so many others are just knocking around to see if I will
consider them... these are defining days in my life, and I love nothing more
than to share them with ya’ll.
So then,
thank you so much, everyone I mentioned from Tappan Middle School! And even
those I didn’t mention... cos maybe
there are times when 20 years go by and names and figures disappear from the
mind, but the one thing that is sure to stay is the growth, the gratitude and
the eternal love for school and city and experiences!
Cheers
all!!!
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