on teaching

One thing I like about taking classes is learning about how professors teach. And professors always impress me when they are teachers and not only talent-seekers. Tonight I remember one of them. She always has this ability to change you, for the better.

When I felt that I did not speak enough in class, she said not to worry.
"I used to be like that."
When did you change? I asked.
"When I realize that everyone has something important to say, even though it might only be important to me. I just realize that I don't speak, I won't get a chance to say something that really matters to me. And I still don't speak a lot - out loud. I speak when I feel I need to. I speak to myself. I speak in writing. I speak through the pictures I take, the flowers I see, the books I read."

When I felt that I did not write well enough, she said not to worry.
"Writing is hard. You know what I do? I write to myself."
Reading and writing I think go together. I try to read a lot. I read different things. And then I write. I write what I read. I just have a journal - nothing fancy, no blog, no Microsoft Word. The point is I write, to the point where I am comfortable with others reading my writing. And even beyond that. I just keep reading and writing."
So that is where you get your amazing ability in intertextuality - that somehow, all texts can be connected.
"Just like life, right? Everything is connected."

When I felt so happy that I accomplished something in my life (aka graduating), she hugged me. "I always trust in my students," she said. It is just a heart-felt happiness to be part of my students' journey.

Isn't she special? She really is, and I hope in life, you all find teachers like her.
Good night, all.