I remember the night. To me, it was as somber as learning someone had died. The fateful truth was I would have to leave my favorite teacher in the whole wide world, Mrs. Cindy Schultz.

I cried and cried to my parents and received heartfelt words such as “It’s okay honey,” and “it will be alright,” in return. Knowing my next teacher at West Suburban Christian Academy could not possibly fill the shoes that Mrs. Schultz walked in, I sulked into school that fateful day in September, not knowing I would be utterly proven wrong.

There she was, Ms. Holly Nichols, (now Stewart, two boys and a little girl on the way,) standing straight with blonde hair just past her shoulders. She was made of love. Smiling while welcoming me into the colorful room with open arms and bright eyes, she said “Hi! I’m Ms. Nichols. You must be Emma.”

Throughout second grade my (new) favorite teacher pushed me to do my best through life lessons, taught me to strive for greatness in every situation, and encouraged me when I just wasn’t there yet. My class had such a connection with her that she invited us to her wedding; I will never forget it. Her patience and forgiveness was a blessing to me while in my elementary years, a trait that I thankfully learned from her.

A situation I can now laugh about comes to mind, which involved our class set of multiplication cards. I would bring home a bag of flashcards to study with my parents and mark on the chart with a sticker when the numbers in the bag were masted (whoever filled up their section the fastest got a treat). Wanting goodies, I took a bag and then a while later put it back, finishing by putting on a sticker for my name. My mother was the room Mom and noticed how many stickers I had, pulled me aside and told me she knew I was cheating. Long story short, I had to come clean to Ms. Nichols and while she was “disappointed I had lied,” she forgave me. I learned a lesson that day. That even though I was struggling I should strive to conquer the task, rather than cheating to finish it. Ms. Nichols knew I had learned my lesson but sadly, I had to apologize to the class, and when I welled up with tears, her shoulder was the one I cried on this time.

Ms. Holly Nichols, I will remember you as my favorite teacher as long as I live because of the love, care, and effort you put into our class that year. You inspired me to become a teacher myself, specifically second grade.

Thank you for not only caring about how well each of your students was doing back then, but also how much we could do when we grew up. Thank you and I can successfully say, you now hold the highest standard.