Everyone has teachers they remember, for good or bad reasons. Being home schooled until my junior year of high school, I didn't really have any interaction with teachers beyond my mother. In about Eighth Grade, I started watching taped lessons, but I still could not interact with these teachers. So, it wasn't until my junior year of high school, when I started dual enrollment in the local community college, that I really experienced being in a class and interacting with a teacher.
I'm not complaining about my earlier education. In fact, I believe I benefited greatly from home schooling, and I would not go back and change it. Now that I’m in college, I found some professors that think highly of me, and have high expectations of me. One professor in particular has high expectations for me. I'm amazed at how much more I am willing to work when I care, not just about my grade, but about what the teacher thinks. Since high school, with a few exceptions, I’ve been able to get good grades by not putting forth too much effort. Just by having a professor that believes in me, I’m pushing myself 3x as hard when I don’t have to. I've raised my stress level 10x, but at the same time, I'm happy to work harder. I'm afraid of failing, and in this case, failing would be not living up to the high expectations that are placed on me.
I'm pushing myself. I’m growing. I'm working at least 3x harder than I am for my other classes, and though I'm stressed, I'm learning 3x more. Everyone should have a professor that inspires her to work this hard at some point during the college, or high school, career. I almost don’t want to graduate in May.
