Nerd Training 101 Day 2 & Questions

So for those of you that don't know I'm off at one of my employers corporate partners this week for additional training. So far we're on day two of sitting in a chair watching a man draw on a whiteboard. It's informative but the baby is really tired of me sitting in the same position. At least that's my theory being as yesterday she was pretty normal but today she's enjoying playing soccer with my pelvic bone.

Today I have slotted to answer the questions my readers asked about the difference makers in my life. I believe in everyone's life they have at least 12 people that will make a huge difference in their life. They can be your friends, mentors, family or strangers but they are people that through their existence change you.

Cheryl over at Red Pens & Diapers asked me "What teacher made the biggest difference in my life?"

The teacher that made the biggest difference in my life was named Katherine Quittmeyer. She was an advanced placement english and history teacher at my highschool. I admired how smart and direct she was. I wanted her to just once tell me I was good enough. She never did. I asked her to write me a recommendation letter for college. The next year I got a job at the same college and I got to read that letter. It was awful. She said I was smarter than the average kid but I only put in the 80% that I had to get things done and she thought teaching me was a waste of resources because I taught myself what I needed to know and ignored the rest. She said a lot of other things that were hateful and mean. She made assumptions about why I missed school (which weren't true), about my family (which weren't true) and about what I must be thinking. Suddenly all those times I thought she was pushing me towards excellence turned into a sarcastic and bitter teacher who was not picking on me to make me thrive but instead picking on me because she didn't like me. She changed the way I view compliments. She made me cautious.

The teacher that made the biggest positive difference in my life was named Mrs Hack. She was an elementary school teacher and she loved her job. She brought character and charisma into our everyday learning. She taught us to love finding the answer. She taught us to find joy in searching. She laughed with her whole body and she loved with her entire soul. She encouraged my love of reading. She encouraged everyone's love for trying new things. She made things related to other things and she never forgot a student. Not even me, who moved away and came back many years later. She taught me a lot more than long division and the arbor tree poem.

AubreyAnne asked me "What trait do you admire in others or do you most of your friends share?"

I admire many traits in others. I admire people with unfaltering faith. I admire people who love well. I admire people with honest patience. I admire people who can forgive and forget. I admire people who love to learn. I admire people who live life well. I admire people who help their community and their planet without being asked or noticed. I admire a lot of people with a lot of different traits. Sometimes it's a combination of traits, but I admire a lot of things.

The trait that most of my friends share is the ability to laugh their way through any crisis. A lot of my friends share the ability to love people well. Some of my friends offer great hope or great knowledge. Some of my friends know how to be vivacious and alive. All my friends are very different. I have them all for different reasons and I keep them because I love them which is probably the only trait that they share.