A Letter to My Most Difficult Professor
Dear Professor,
I sit in the middle of the classroom, not too far in the front or back. I don’t have the highest grade, but I am far from the lowest. I ask questions, but I rarely participate in discussion. I am the middle.
I don’t want to like you, but I suppose I do. Your tests are hard; your quizzes are harder. Assignments fall somewhere in between. I can’t remember the last time I had to be perfect at spelling difficult scientific words. But that doesn’t stop me from learning so much from you. Although I sit by a large window overlooking beautiful plants, I don’t daydream or lose focus. I listen to the information and I take notes. I don’t mean I just copy the information from your PowerPoint, I really take notes. I actually listen to the things you say that aren’t “test material.”
What I am trying to say is “thank you.” I have learned a lot from you over this past semester. Thank you for introducing me to a world to which I had never been exposed. Thank you for ensuring that I understand material that others have known for most of their lives. Thank you for forcing my work to always be the best. Thank you for making my complaints always end in “but I’ve learned so much this semester.” Thank you for the hands-on experience that you have given to me. Thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone in so many ways.
You might not feel that I appreciate you, but know that you have had a profound impact on my life in all of these ways and more. I have never had such a challenging or rewarding class, and for that I am truly thankful.
Sincerely,
The Student in the Middle