Influences...

Have you ever lost touch with someone that changed your life in a profound, visible way and then found them again? Did you ever think about what you would say to them? I am not a frequent facebooker anymore, but I recently came across my favorite teacher on facebook. We left the school at about the same time. He went on to earn a PhD and teach collegiately, while I went on to college. I didn't know the influence he would have on my life until much later. I always thought of myself as a normal or above average student. Being in gifted & talented classes and scoring in the 99th percentile on standardized tests never managed to shake this perception. I always did just well enough to be in the top few of the class. I only pushed myself with extra curricular activities. At first, I really did not like him, because he would give me a C on a paper that clearly would have been an A paper for most of the other students in the class. (I know that because of the number of papers I edited in the class.) He forced me to test my own ability. Because he demanded more from me, I demanded more from myself. I have ever since. It was nice to be able to tell him that.