A Positive Influence

Have you ever had someone in your life really influence you? Change you? Has someone ever made such an impact on you, and they didn't know how you felt?


I think sometimes we don't always tell people how we feel about them, and we should. We just don't know if we might get the opportunity again to tell someone how special you think they are. Or how their influence in your life meant so much to you.


A while back, I had blogged about a bad day I was having. And then later wrote about perspective. I found out that my bad day, really wasn't a bad day at all. I discovered that a wonderful former high school teacher of mine was battling an inoperable form of cancer.


I was lucky throughout my years of schooling, because I had many great teachers. This one in particular stood out above the rest. I wanted him to know how I felt, and to thank him for being that kind of a teacher and role model for me, and to tell him that I am praying for him and his family everyday. But I wasn't sure how.


Months went by, and I continued to think about him often, and pray for him often. I hear him occassionally doing the school announcements at the high school across from my house. But he didn't know that I thought of him so much.


I wanted to write him a letter, and let him know what kind of impact he had on me in high school. Let him know what a fun and cool teacher I thought he was. Let him know that I am so sorry to hear about his illness. But I wasn't sure how.


I have lost 3 people that I loved dearly to cancer. It is an awful disease. I pray that one day there will be a cure for it. It is a very scary word to me. I don't like to think about it. I don't like to hear about it. And now I know of this teacher, who meant so much to me, that is now battling it too. I wanted to write him, but I just did not want my letter to sound like a goodbye letter. So I wrote nothing. But prayed for him often.


Then recently Patrick Swayzee lost his battle to cancer. I was really sad about his death. He seemed so strong and upbeat throughout it all. Just like how I've heard my former teacher has been handling his battle. With the upmost optimism possible. When Patrick Swayzee's passing was announced, it just hit me that we don't have an endless amount of time to tell people how we feel about them. And I wanted Mr. Sawaya to know how I felt.


So I wrote him a letter.


I called my Mom to read it back to her, and I cried.


She said it sounded very nice. So I put it in an envelope, and my Mom's neighbor who works with Mr. Sawaya said she would personally hand it to him.


I wasn't sure if he would remember me. After all it was 12 years ago that I was in one of his classes. I included a picture of me and my family to jog his memory if need be.


He told my Mom's neighbor that he read my letter, and of course he remembers me, and would I please call him at the school.


I called him today.


He said Gennifer, can I say something? I just want to say THANK YOU. Thank you so much for your letter and your words. That really means so much to me.


He told me that letting people know how you feel is something that sometimes is not said until it is at their funeral. And that for him and his family, through this "health opportunity" that is the biggest thing he has learned, is to tell people how you feel about them because you just never know when your next chance might be.


Even now he is a prime example for me to learn by. His optimism and positive attitude amaze me. I could only hope that I would react in such a way if I were him.


He thanked me for my letter, and also told me that I was a great and memorable student for him. He even reminded me of something that I had forgotten about. My freshman year of history with Mr. Sawaya, he made a bet with our class that we all had to achieve a certain grade, and if the whole class did it, he would eat a can of cat food. Our class won the bet, and Mr. Sawaya ate the cat food! I had completely forgotten about that. He was a fun teacher.


Not everyone is lucky enough to have a teacher that leaves such a lasting impression on them. I'm so glad that I did.


Who in your life has made such an impact on you? Do they know how you feel?

You should tell them.