I remember going into my eighth grade year terrified of one thing...the teachers. My seventh grade days were filled with rumors of cruelty and detentions. Standing outside my new eighth grade teacher, Mrs. Schliepp’s, room was the last place I wanted to be.

Mrs. Schliepp began the first day with a list of expectations. The list included words such as respect, independence and communication. Mrs. Schliepp asked the class what these words meant to them… but nobody responded. I looked around and realized my classmates were as terrified as I was. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so alone.

The school year went on something strange began to happen. Mrs. Schliepp was becoming less intimidating and easier to talk to. We started out talking about things that had to do with my school work, but then we moved onto different issues outside the classroom. It was the first time in years an eighth grade teacher didn’t seem intimidating. I realized Mrs. Shliepp’s intentions were never to scare her students, but to prepare them for the next part of their lives…high school.

Eighth grade graduation was the hardest moment I faced in my young teen life. I was leaving a teacher that had taught me how to handle myself as a high school student and also leaving a friend. Mrs. Schliepp prepared me for not just high school, but the rest of my life. If I were to go back, I would choose no other teacher to help me make the progression into adulthood.