June 7th, 2010
Dear Mrs. C:
If you have taught me anything this year, it’s that I should be myself. For that reason I hope that this letter will perfectly convey my writer’s voice in its full elite and sanitary glory. Since this is essentially a farewell letter I could waste your time by writing the cliché parting words of how you were one of the best persons I’ve ever met. Instead, let me say that you were indeed one of the best persons I’ve ever met. You made this year a success – whatever that means.
However, before I continue I believe there is something I must clear up. I am not an elitist. I know I have said this several times and then you would just look at me and I would huff away… For the record (and I’m assuming you’re keeping one) this was mostly an act. In reality the reason I may show elitist tendencies is because throughout my childhood my mother made a point of reminding me that my name – Nathanael – meant “gift from God” and also that I was “unique”. That, in turn with the fact that I was intellectually ahead of my peers for most of my academic career helped convince me that I, this “gift from God” was unique. Now, I don’t want to make it seem like I’m saying that I was smarter than everyone else…but I was smarter than everyone else (until high school). I don’t know why, but I was. I always got the “wow! you’re really smart for your age” and the “are you in an accelerated learning program?” whenever I went anywhere. This still occurs, especially at the doctor’s office. I try to think it happens to every child because people are trying to be nice but it follows me like a plague. Eventually school got boring and I found myself daydreaming about the universe and my inventions. I always passed my tests mostly because I had already learned the material somewhere before on my own and this is how I passed all my classes without ever doing much homework. I really wish this trend had continued into your class but I was never endowed with the gift of knowing literature before having read it. Anyways, I truly find beauty in all of life and I want to preserve it. I believe that humanity has great potential and that we should all work together for the general good by means of a great moral awakening and sustained ethical fortitude.
Now that that is out of the way I believe I can continue with my farewell. It was a joy being in your class. I enjoyed the books we read, the ideas we shared, the munchkins we devoured, the movies we watched, the tests we omitted, the tangents we had, the children you brought, the stories you shared, the corner you placed me in, and finally the sweet savor of your literary prowess which you imparted unto us day after flower-scented day. That last part may never have happened, but everything else did. For that, I am grateful. One lesson that I will take to heart and carry with me throughout my life besides “legal means of happiness and no touching” is that it can always be worse.
That is how I have to comfort myself as I write this letter. I must remind myself that this goodbye could always be worse, and I’m thankful that it isn’t.
In closing I feel obligated to impart more cliché. I charge you to continue teaching – the noblest of pursuits – and to continue putting all of your energy and passion into it just as you have been. Secondly I must ask that you keep in mind that individually we cannot change the world, only our little corner of it. Always seek truth and work for the betterment and the advancement of humanity.
May our paths cross again. Take care of yourself, and raise them kids right.
Sincerely Yours,
NJR
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