It was my first day of my eighth grade year, and due to changing feeder patterns, my school was now Henry B. Dupont. Only knowing a few people, I wasn't sure how I would like it. My first class was with a teacher named Ms. Brady, and the moment I walked in the door, she already seemed stressed. I thought to myself sarcastically, “What a great way to start-off my first day.”  Little did I know how close we would become in only weeks.

Three weeks went by into school and Ms. Brady was like any other english teacher to me. I had not made too many friends at the school yet and I was always feeling very tired. Ms. Brady, along with my other teachers, noticed me sleeping in class and said I should get more sleep. Yet even when I did get more sleep, I still felt exhausted and cranky. So I went to the doctors and had many tests done and I was told I had mononucleosis.The following days, my condition got much worse, my throat was swollen shut and even standing up was exhausting. I spent a week at Nemours-Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children sleeping and eating nothing. I lost a total of 12 pounds that week and things were not looking good. The prognosis of mononucleosis made me unable to go to school for months; I needed to be home schooled. Luckily, my english teacher, Ms. Brady, stepped up to homeschool me. What really surprised me was that the pay for this was not high, she was doing this out of pure kindness. Not knowing much about her, I was a bit nervous because she would be coming to my house after every school day to help me catch up on what I missed.

The first day she came to my house, she walked in with a big smile and gave me a hug. We sat down at my dining room table which would be our working area for the following weeks. I thought I would have never been able to make up the week's worth of work I missed, but with me being her only student, she was able to thoroughly explain everything to me. Ms. Brady would make sure I understood everything before moving on to the next lesson, which was very nice of her. Everyday, she would come over, we would have our laughs, and still get done what we had to do. I wanted to know everything she taught me to help me get the best grade I could, which I had never wanted before. Through all the hard work,I ended the marking period with a ninety-eight, my best grade ever in english.

After about a month, I went back to school, making way more friends than I ever thought I would. Ms. Brady helped me get involved in the school and introduced me to many teachers and students. Ms. Brady runs a program called “Best Buddies”, which is where she takes time out of her day to read and play with children with disabilities from the Meadowood School.  Ms. Brady uses her kindness in her heart to help out every student she can. Ms. Brady is to also thank for writing the amazing reference letter for me that I submitted with my application to Delaware Military Academy. Being a prior teacher at DMA, this helped out alot. Delaware Military Academy is the school I currently attend and leading me to have a successful life.

My eighth grade year at Henry B. Dupont ended up being the best school year of my life because I made many friends, got good grades, and won the Red Clay Soccer Championship with my  team. Ms. Brady was biggest reason for my success that year and I thank her so much for everything she did. She spread her kindness and passion for teaching with every one of her students. I still keep in contact with her and know a few of her current students. They all say the same thing about how they love having her as a teacher. Ms Brady will continue to impact student’s life throughout her teaching career.