A couple of days ago, I received an email from a former student. He said, I’d like to think you remember me. And although, if you have been teaching for as long as I have, you know that it is sometimes hard to remember a student, I remembered Marco clearly. It was my very first year teaching. I had the qualifications for Teaching English and a Second Language (TESOL), but had absolutely no experience whatsoever. My ESL class consisted of a few students from Italy, one student from Iran (who contacted me a few years ago), and a few students from Mexico. I loved that class. Every day they astounded me with their growth and their language development. I have often wondered where the students ended up. In the case of Marco, he had dreamed of becoming a pilot. What I did not remember clearly was the point of his email to me:

As a young man, I didn’t always realize how fortunate I was to be surrounded by people that care.

I Owe you an essay.

I wrote it last Christmas, but I never got around to edit it.

I believe the essence of its meaning is all there.

I still remember her words, “you can still hand in the essay” even after a missed deadline. Words that after many years still resound in my head. She doesn’t know it, but she had taught me a very big lesson. Her last one actually, since I moved away to University the following semester. Her lesson – in life you will have to do many things you might not like, you still need to do them, they might not be perfect, but put your best effort forward.

Your words Ms. Casa; when you said: “you can still hand it in”. Never a specific date, and at this point not even a specific topic. Simply a lesson in life that I keep dear to heart – always hand in your persuasive essay.