My Middle School Science Teacher

Isn't it funny how people you meet later in life can make you understand and appreciate people from years before? I talk a lot about things I've learned from my sweet fella, and there's no doubt that I love him like crazy. He's funny, smart, loving, thoughtful, loyal, passionate, and genuine... everything I've ever wanted in a man. But, along with all those things, I also got something I didn't even know I wanted or needed. I got a man that has taught me so much about living a fulfilling life, about unconditionally unwavering love and strangely enough, about myself.

When I was in middle school at Gaston Christian School, I had a science teacher named Matthew Kramer. He was a young guy with dark hair and he was hands down my favorite teacher. I hate science, I always have, yet somehow Mr. Kramer managed to make learning about it fun for me. We played games to help us remember the material, he let us help him set up a real terrarium in our classroom so we could learn about habitats and ecosystems, and he took us on little field trips where he made hands-on learning not only educational, but also fun and memorable. There was never any doubt that he cared about each and every one of his students. He didn't have favorites, because we were all his favorite. He never belittled us, but instead he took every opportunity as a teachable moment, building us up and making us "come out of our shells" to actively get involved in his classroom.

It's so weird to think, now looking back, that back then, Mr. Kramer was probably about the same age that Grayson is now. A young teacher, just starting out, with a passion for impacting the lives of children. Grayson reminds me so much of Mr. Kramer - his love of children, the way his eyes light up when he's explaining something. It's so funny to me that my boyfriend, now that I'm a 21 year old senior in college makes me appreciate my middle school science teacher, who has long since moved away, had children and has a happy life far removed from Gaston Christian or any of the students that he impacted during his time there.

Thank you so much to all the teachers, even if you aren't a teacher anymore, who have impacted lives like mine. You have no idea what a profound difference you make and rest assured, it is not forgotten.