At the end of fifth grade, I was told I had to take Spanish my sixth to eighth grade years. There was hatred, hopelessness and hesitancy on my mind.  This class was making me dread my sixth grade year. Because I knew it was going to be tough; I knew there would be extra work.
As I entered the classroom, there were green walls and on those walls were posters that had common Spanish mistakes. The classroom had piñatas hanging from the ceiling:  Azul (blue), Verde (green), Rosado (pink), Anaranjado (orange).  Seeing that was alright, but then I thought, here comes the death of me, a big scary man standing inside with a grin on his face. He just seemed like a harsh teacher.
Time passed and about a week later, we started getting into Spanish, learning our names and how to say hi. I started to realize that. Mr. Andress  wasn’t that scary, but it was too hard to tell if Spanish was going to be the death of me. Mr. Andress n was a bright man. I mean literally. He always wore bright colored shorts or shirts. I’m talking neon orange, neon yellow and he always wore this purple collared shirt. He dressed very athletic most of the time.
As I started getting more into the school year, I started to realize that he was a great teacher. The way he taught us made it easy to understand. He had us play games almost every day to help with the memorization. It was as if we were babies learning how to talk. He talked about the culture where and how it was so different than here. Even though I had trouble in the beginning, he took the time to sit after class with me and help me understand. He was just one of the most understanding teachers I’ve ever had.
Even though at first glance he seemed scary. In the end he wasn’t,he was outgoing and happy.  What if that was the reason to wear bright colors to remind of happiness. So, I went from always wearing black to changing it up. Also, Mr.Andress inspired me to keep going on with my Spanish career. He is the reason I’m still taking Spanish now. Also, he is the reason why I want to become a Spanish teacher.
In eighth grade, he became my basketball coach. My team wasn’t very good. We were stubborn, friendly, and calm. Does that sound like a good team for basketball?
During our season we realized there was so much to learn. At our first practice, we didn’t even pick up basketballs. We talked. He said we need to be “competitive, communicative with each other, and cheerful.” The three C’s. Also, he told us we needed to be motivated, bold, and unafraid of getting down and dirty.  It was hard, but he kept on making me push through the obstacles.
As practices went on, we wanted to just give up. But during those practices, he made us do our plays over and over. We also played 20 for 20 (if we made 20 shots in a row, he would bring us candy bars). It was exciting!
In this, he showed me how to teach others. He taught me how easy it is to get other’s attention without having to be mean.
I may have been scared at the beginning of my sixth grade year, but by the end, I was in love with Spanish and left with skills I never thought a teacher could give me. I was enthusiastic, ambitious and motivated to learn more. And yes, as junior in high school now, I still want to become a Spanish teacher.
So, this is why I nominate my sixth through eighth grade Spanish teacher for this award. Thank you, Mr. Andress, for guiding me and showing me more than I could ever imagine.
Gracias, por leyendo mi novela