My high school English teacher, Ms. Phillips, inspired me to pursue my passions. Around the time when I had her, I was in my sophomore year and my parents were going through a messy divorce. Swimming became my outlet from this, and Ms. Phillips encouraged me to keep pursuing athletics when everything was going on. 

My favorite memories with her were hanging out in her classroom during lunch. That was my haven – I would go there whenever I was feeling overwhelmed. She gave me a safe space that I needed at the time during my sophomore and junior years of high school. Ms. Phillips also used to feed me during lunchtime after she learned that I was only eating once a day. I think I would have gone down a really dark path if it wasn’t for her. 

Her class set the standard for me on how English class should be. I’ve asked her if I can use some of her resources for my own class and she inspired me to teach a lesson that I’ll be doing for my English class later this year. 

Currently, I talk to her pretty frequently. I’ll usually ask her how she’s doing and sometimes I’ll bring up a lesson I’m teaching. I’ll talk to her about things I’m happy about to feel reassuring – she’s like a second mother to me.