I have a laundry list of people in my life who have taught me lessons. The first person that comes to mind is my mother, Christine, who taught me everything I know now. One example of this is before I started kindergarten, I would get jealous because she could read and I couldn’t so she would sit with me every night before I went to sleep and taught me sight words. Eventually I could read a little bit on my own. Instead of her reading to me every night she had me read to her and would help me with words I still didn’t know. Christine taught me a lot more as well. She taught me how to be confident and that being opinionated is not a bad thing. She would take me to work with her so I could observe how she would yell at the men in her building to not talk over her. Another woman in my family who taught me a lot is my aunt, Erin. She was the first person in my family I felt I could really be at ease with. I would come to her with typical friend drama but she always taught me to consider everyone’s feelings and point of views. This helped me be a better problem solver for my friends and how to mediate calmly if conflict arises. She also taught me that how others see me, good or bad, is not a true reflection of me, just how they feel about me. 

Later in my first year of highschool I had an English teacher named Gina Peat who helped me through a really hard time in my life. I was struggling with who I was and she would take time out of her free periods to talk to me. She taught me to not take myself so seriously and the only way to get over embarrassment is to decide not to be. After I spent so much time with her, I realized I needed actual help and started seeing a therapist. Her name is Ildie and she has taught me so much. She taught me how to take care of myself and different ways to cope with everyday life. I am so thankful that I was able to see her because she truly changed my life. She taught me what mindfulness, meditation, and empathy for myself is. She helped me see that I do not have to cater to everyone constantly and to cater to myself first. The most important lessons I have learned in my life were not school subjects, they were very personal.