On the first day of school, I walked into English and met Mrs. Gibbs. I could tell from the start she would be a great teacher. She was personnel and made me feel welcome. Mrs. Gibbs was born on April 17, 1978 in Muncie, Indiana, but grew up in Yorktown, Indiana. She also went to Yorktown High School. In school, she got good grades all around. She says, “I got 9th in my class, even though it was a small one.” After high school, she went to college at IU. She said, “I loved every minute of it. It was a great experience.” Now I look up to her and call her my hero. I love the way Mrs. Gibbs teaches. She makes sure that you understand everything. Mrs. Gibbs is an awesome teacher, friend, loving person, former tennis coach, and a Young Life leader; she does everything well, and she is truly a hero.

Mrs. Gibbs is my 9th grade honors English teacher. She said that there was not really a person who inspired her to become a teacher; however, she said, “I have always loved kids, I used to be a camp counselor and I had so much fun.” She truly loves kids, and you can tell. She says she loves her job now. She said that Westfield is a really great community which includes parents, kids, and people. She says other people she knows are from different towns or cities, and Westfield is just so much better. Mrs. Gibbs has a family which consists of her husband, Jeff, her 16 month old son, Parker, her two cats, grey-kitty and orange kitty, and her dog, Lucy. She loves them all. When she talks about them, her face lights up and I knew how sincere she was. You can also tell that Mrs. Gibbs loves to teach. She puts so much time and effort into what she does; it is amazing. Her job requires her to wake up every morning really early and teach high schoolers. Mrs. Gibbs is nice to everyone.

Mrs. Gibbs used to be a coach three years ago. This summer, she only got to play tennis once. “Having a family, it is hard to get on the court and play.” She says. She is not a coach anymore, but she encourages kids to go out and try it. My dad, the athletic director, said she always put caring for the kids above anything else. She was a great role model and got to know her kids personally. He also said she was a hard worker. This shows a lot about her character. It shows that she is a loving person, a role model, hardworking, tough, and successful. Sort of sounds like Odysseus. If she had to go through what Odysseus had to go through, I am sure she would have made the right decisions.

Like Odysseus, Mrs. Gibbs is really smart. She says when she was in school she got really good grades. When you are in her class, you can tell she knows what she is talking about. Not once have I seen her just sit down at her desk and say go. She always walks around and makes sure people understand what she is teaching. She puts lots of time into her work. She explains things really well. Her hardest struggle was her first year of teaching. Her friends got to email each other, wake up later, and go out to lunch each day. While being a teacher, requires you to get up early and work the whole day through. Her job required a lot more responsibility than others. Her job was busier than others; she was as busy as a bee. She said all that hard work paid off, because she loves her job now.

Mrs. Gibbs has accomplished a lot. Her accomplishments include: getting her masters, having a healthy baby, being a great tennis coach, and loving her opportunity to volunteer for Young Life. One of her biggest accomplishments was getting her masters. Although it was tough, it sure was worth it in the end. But the most wonderful experience was having her baby Parker. He is a healthy 16 month old little boy. She says it was the most wonderful thing in the world. Also being a tennis coach takes up a lot of your time. She put in that time and effort to make herself a really great coach. All this makes her more of a hero to me, because it shows that she is successful. It also shows that she loves life. There are many reasons why she is my hero, but being successful as a person is a major reason why Mrs. Gibbs is my hero.

Young Life is a major reason why I think she is my hero. Many people have told me about Young Life. Someone was talking to me about it and they said, “Oh it is great. Mrs. Gibbs is awesome. You should go.” When I heard she was a leader there, it made me a little more eager to go and be a part of it. Because she works for a public school, teachers are not allowed to talk about their religion. Mrs. Gibbs shows herself as a believer of Christ by her actions. She does not even have to speak about God, it is just the way she presents herself and treats other people. Young Life is where she proves herself as a hero to me.

When I think of a hero, I think of someone being smart, funny, and nice, a role model, loving, and a follower of Christ. Mrs. Gibbs just happens to be all of those things. She does all this and more. She is like Odysseus in so many ways, yet she is so much more personal. Mrs. Gibbs also gives a little more mercy then Odysseus too! Although we have only been in school about 5 weeks, I know that I will grow closer to her and love her even more. I also know that Mrs. Gibbs has plenty more in store for us. She will continue to be a great teacher and friend. I hope I get to know Mrs. Gibbs so much better. So what do you think of when you here the word hero? I think of someone who is smart, funny, and nice, a role model, loving, and a follower of Christ. If you sum all those words up, you have Mrs. Gibbs. So next time you need a true hero, get to know Mrs. Gibbs. I know she has and will change my life as a student.