The darkness of the drab room hit me like a wrecking ball. I stood in the doorway, unsure of what was going to hit me next. My classmates maneuvered around my anxious body as they entered the room. They were all talking with their friends. I spotted an empty seat near the back and sat down, plopping my bag on the ground beside me.

My classmates looked so happy. I watched in confusion. I could not wrap my head around the fact that they were all so happy on the first day of middle school. This, for me, was not a happy moment.

The door slammed shut and a tall man approached the large desk in the front. The light shone off his head; he looked formal and stubborn. Great, I thought as I watched him sit down. I don’t have any friends here and my teacher looks like he doesn’t care about his students. What a great class this is going to be.

Mr. Donahue introduced himself and welcomed us to the class. He discussed the syllabus and went over each point. I felt skeptical, not knowing what to expect from him. I thought he was going to be yet another person in my life who didn’t want anything to do with me.

A couple weeks into the school year, I ran into Mr. Donahue in the main office. When he saw me, a smile appeared on his face.

“Hello, Catherine,” he said, looking me in the eyes. “How are you today?” He didn’t really know me since I was always quiet in class. I worried that once he did get to know me, he would hate me and ignore me just like everyone else. But he didn’t.

We walked to class together. My initial negative thoughts about him flew away; he wasn’t stubborn or uncaring at all. In fact he was one of the nicest, funniest people I had ever met. It felt like I had known him for a long time, even though this was our first conversation. I think I talked to him more in those three minutes than some people I’ve known for years. Our conversation flowed naturally. We didn’t just talk about school; we discussed things that were important to each of us. For me, that was tennis and my dog. For him it was his family. I felt so comfortable. For the first time in years, I felt like I had someone to talk to besides my family.

The day I returned to school after Christmas break, I was very excited to share my holiday stories. People in my social studies and English classes were telling each other theirs, so I jumped in to share mine too. Unfortunately, my classmates were not interested. As a matter of fact, a couple of them grew silent. They looked at each other in disgust. One even told me to “mind your own business.” For the rest of class, I lowered my head and did not speak another word.

Later at lunch, I still wasn’t in the mood to talk. I started heading for the bathroom, but before I got there I heard Mr. Donahue calling me. I stopped. Would I annoy him with my stories too?

For the entire lunch, I stood with him. He listened to the stories I had been trying to share earlier. We talked about Christmas morning, unwrapping our presents, and eating the leftover cookies Santa hadn’t eaten. We talked about sledding with family. We talked about receiving a karaoke machine and singing our hearts out even though there was no chance either of us would ever land an audition on “X Factor.” And lastly, we talked about how important it is to spend time with those you care about and who care about you. I felt very content for the rest of the day.

Mr. Donahue also helped me in the science classroom. One day, I asked if I could stay after school for some help. As I expected, he said yes. Later when I arrived, he brought out a quiz I had taken with a 76 circled on top. He smiled. “I would like to help you bring up this grade,” he explained. We looked at the questions I had gotten wrong. He rephrased them, explaining them in greater detail so I could understand. I answered with all the knowledge I had, and before long that 76 turned into a 92. Afterward, the two of us talked for a while. There were people walking in and out of the classroom looking for his attention. What surprised me was that he cared about what I was saying. After some student interrupted him to ask something, he turned back to me, looked me straight in the eye, and said, “Go on.” I can’t even begin to say how good that made me feel; nobody had ever done that before.

On the last day of school, I gave him a gift of appreciation for all he had done for me both academically and personally. I was so thankful. Mr. Donahue made me realize that even though I may think everyone’s against me, there is always someone who only wants the best for me. I should also always give people a chance, as I did for him. He helped ease my mind and increase my confidence, something no one else has been able to do.