Appreciation | Teen Ink

Appreciation

October 13, 2015
By NizZzy1 PLATINUM, Arrowsmith, Illinois
NizZzy1 PLATINUM, Arrowsmith, Illinois
40 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Like Moves On
Things Happen
I am my shadow self


Alright the time for this paper is well overdue and well underrated for the two fantastic gentlemen I will be thanking. They are both well educated, respected in their own fields of study and share the same passion for the English arts and the education of said arts to their students. and are both very funny to be in class with.
First I’d like to thank you both equally for the experiences and memories you have given me for the rest of my days to cherish, I may have only been able to be in class with both of you only two years each but I wouldn't trade those years for anything. And before you ask yes these will be a little blushy in the beginning but bare with me.  My passion for writing and reading may have been a hobby going into High School occasionally reading a few books a week in Jr. High to escape the world of reality for a few hours to be in many different realms of mystery, adventure and suspense. Then I reached the level that was shrouded with mystery and adventure known as High School where I first meet Mr. Wyant. Never before had I meet a teacher with so much passion for what he teaches and the way he teaches it. His way of breaking down every scene from the story and how he makes you feel apart of it and how he makes you feel like you are a character in the story. He is truly one of the masters of putting you in the spot of the story, making you feel so alive in his classes. Having Mr.Wyant in the morning throughout freshman and sophomore year was always the peek of having an early morning class, he made me happy to be up at 9 in the morning to hear him read to us and for us to be able to interact with him in whatever adventure we would be involved in. He also showed me to further my skills as a writer. Early on in my freshman year I had a notebook with a bunch of short stories in it that I felt were proud to publish on a teen writing sites. I didn't think much of it at the time, then I introduced it to Mr.Wyant who was ecstatic about my interest and love for writing and making these short stories. So with his advice I keep writing and publishing them onto the site, after a few months of doing it I kind of fell of writing them to focus on other things and after those months I went back to the website to see who had viewed them, and after seeing the hundreds of people who saw and liked my papers I was so proud of listening to Mr.Wyant  and taking his advice on the subject. After seeing the responses I was getting I decided to take the time to write a full out story, and so I did after filling each chapter and correcting it to my feel I would email the chapter to Mr.Wyant and he would email his feedback and ideas on how to improve my writing style and how the story could be better if I did this, after all those chapters even during finals when time was scarce and hard to come by he would still take the time to reply and give me his feedback. Mr.Wyant was then and still is the second idol I have that keeps me writing and keeps me motivated to do what I care about in this passion of mine to always do what you care about most, and I’m very glad I got to experience the adventures and great memories I got to have with you sir. With all this being said, I wrote a paper called “Youngbloods” a few months ago dedicated to you and you ways around the classroom, and the paper gained a huge amount of popularity on the class I’m in for the language arts in free writing, and I didn't find it right to accept any glory without sharing it with the origins of how the paper came to be and the main character of the story.  Mr.Wyant I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart how much inspiration you have given me from all of your advice, teachings and you just being one of the best teachers in the whole world, for that I thank you and I am very proud to have a paper based around such a great teacher and friend.

 

Now comes the second half of High School, the transition from writing papers and being the silent quiet kid in the back of class, to the Snellster. Mr.Snell was a fantastic transition from the pure awesomeness of Mr.Wyant, to the funny, exciting and pun throwing Mr.Snell. Going into the class I had extremely high hopes, I had all the main friends in the same class with me and a great teacher who I had been told was funny as can be from the students before me. When I entered Mr.Snell's class it was a true understatement of how awesome this class was. The fact of it was that the class was based on the history of writing and how the english language came to be, and how the evolution of that was to be and how all these famous poets and writers made it to what it is now.  I had this class early in the morning as well and it was always a blast having this first thing so I could have my day go from meh it's eight in the morning to awhh it's over already? He has this aura around him that makes you wanna stay longer and pay attention more, and it's all apart of his master plan I've come to realize. See what he does is he lures you in and he traps you with all the excitement and antics that you're so caught up in it that you forget your learning. In this class I didn't try to read a lot because we were doing that in class as it was, but I also tended to not speak a lot of plays to read out loud, I just never felt comfortable with it. Then he picked me to read a line out of one story, and I tried to be funny and read with an accent, a british one if I do remeber correctly, and I honestly thought he was gonna throw me out of class for such a response, but as I looked up from the end of the line he was smiling ear to ear and laughing encouraging me to read more with that voice. It soon became a thing I did with every story and with each character a different voice, making the majority of the class laugh in process and Mr.Snell as well. I will always be thankful for him to be able to make me come out of my shell of insecurity and be that laughing person with the multiple accidents and the ability to make your teacher laugh each time you read and it not be because your reading skills are bad.  Which also helped me in my presenting skills as well, I remember having to present a paper in class about Gay Rights and I was a tad nervous with it being such a touchy subject, and I acted like a college professor with the glasses and the ruler to make it seem like I was trying to not be funny and entertaining, and he applauded me for it. Same goes for when I had to present a paper on the different music genres and how it affects the social skills of a student in school. I acted the same way as the last paper and I was applauded for it, I absolutely loved his class because I was encouraged to be that person every day which made me grateful that he encouraged that I explore this new persona and type of person I could be to make others laugh. Mr.Snell in honor of you I also wrote a paper about your class in more detail as well called “The Other Side” it also gained a lot of support and influence in my writing group so much so that I was given an invitation to attend a writing seminar in Indianapolis and asked to present it. I wanted to thank you as well for being the other major idol and influence in my writing career to say the least but in my development of being who I am to this day.


I wrote this paper because it felt fitting to be the first to officially say thank you for not just being great teachers and scholars, but being great role models for me, and for showing me that the talents I have are not just something I go through High School and just lose after its done. I can't thank you two enough for all the thoughts you out through my heads, all the encouragement, and all the praise I got in return. I will be forever in your debt as a student and as a person for each lesson learned and for each memory provided form you two. I know the future generations of students that go through your classes and learn how amazing and passionate you are about your teachings and how much you care about each student as your own. Thank you for making me what I am today and for each life lesson you were able to give to me. With much love and appreciation Aex “NizZzy.”


The author's comments:

I would like to dedicate this peice to Mr.Snell and Mr.Wyant the two single reasons why I write papers and stories is becuase they belived in my writing skills and they are my reason for being where I am today. So thank you both from the bottom of my heart. 


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