When I walked into the classroom that first day of class sophomore year, there was definitely something different about the atmosphere. Teenage girls overwhelmed every corner of the room. At first, an all-girls biology class seemed like nothing more than a classroom stuffed with emotions and estrogen – but my assumptions were soon extinguished.
As I glanced at the front of the room, I noticed a peachy-skinned, light-haired woman with a radiance about her; a radiance that only pregnant women have. Her gentle voice rang in my ears, “Hi girls, my name is Mrs. Holdmann and this is all-girls sophomore Biology. I’m gonna cut right to the chase – this class is awesome.” Even from the first two minutes of knowing her, I admired her charismatic and easy going attitude already.
Mrs. Holdmann talked about her beautiful baby boy Eli, her husband Dan, and her soon-to-be new baby boy who, to us, would remain nameless until the day he was born. “I have a little alien growing inside me, how cool and creepy is that?!” she said.
Atoms, photosynthesis, and even genetics couldn’t drain Mrs. Holdmann of her enthusiasm. The days passed and I noticed my hate for science slowly turning into interest. And my interest peaked even more when the baby-making project was first introduced. We were told to pick our celebrity crush and “combine” both our genes to make a baby; never would I have thought I could have a baby with Alex Pettyfer and learn the role chromosomes from each parent play at the same time.
Months passed and Mrs. Holdmann’s stomach swelled with anticipation to pop that baby out–a sign that saddened all of us because we knew Mrs. Holdmann would be leaving and a substitute would take her place.
The end of the year came and Mrs. Holdmann returned from her maternity leave. Happy to be back with our long lost teacher, our all-girls biology class had become a family once again. The school year crept closer to the end, and again, we sadly said our goodbyes.
The following school year, word spread that Mrs. Holdmann had experienced a family tragedy. After taking much needed time off, she came back to school and continued on with her life. Not only was I impressed to hear that she came back, but I was also surprised to hear how well she was doing. She was back to her energetic self, something I’m not sure most people could do.
Mrs. Holdmann demonstrated that no matter how bad life gets, you can always push through it . She put aside her tragic experience and turned her troubles back into knowledge and guidance to help her students continue to thrive. Not only is Mrs. Holdmann an inspirational woman, but she is also a symbol of strength, persistence, and hope–something most teenagers need a healthy dose of.
No longer did her all-girls biology classes have the reputation of being stuffed with emotional and estrogen-filled girls, but the reputation of being taught by a fearless and fascinating woman.