A Teacher’s Lasting Impact…
When I was little, I never went to Kindergarten, I went right into first grade. I was only there for a few weeks when they bumped me up to first and second grade combination. Which they said was the first graders that were a little more advanced and the second graders who weren’t quite up to the rest in their class. I’m guessing I was there because I had five older siblings to teach me.
Five years old and scared…
I’ll never forget how scared I was to leave my classmates and get put into a new class. I sat in the very back row and hoped nobody noticed me.
That first day we were given a color-by-number coloring sheet and crayons and told to color it accordingly. I remember looking around at everyone else’s pictures and of course they were all the same. I started coloring.
You are unique…
When Mrs. Wilmont, our teacher was walking around commenting on some of the pictures she came to mine. She quietly asked me why I wasn’t coloring what the numbers said. I quietly mumbled; “because I don’t want to be like everyone else. I want to color it the way I want it.”
She asked me to stand up and she showed the whole class my picture. She told them what I had said and that she liked it when we let our own creativity come out in class.
She then grabbed me and gave me a big hug right in front of everyone. She taught me that sometimes it’s scary to step outside the comfort zone where everyone else is, but there will always be people there to celebrate your uniqueness with you.
We are unique and there is no one else like us. So why try to be like someone else?!
Being different is fun…
I have learned that we all have our own special talents. We just have to learn to use them in the right way.
For me… I had to learn to use my independent boldness in a way that would make a positive impact in the world. That turned out to be speaking and educating people on how to heal, grow and reach out to others.
The impact, the blessing…
My Mom and I ran into Mrs. Wilmont in the J.C. Penney’s store in Little Falls, MN one day. I was married and just had my first child. I recognized Mrs. Wilmont right away but I didn’t think she would remember me. It had been almost twenty years since I was in her class. We walked up to her and before I could even say hi, she squealed “Pammy!” and grabbed me and hugged me.
That teacher impacted my life at age five and then again at age twenty two. I will always treasure the lessons she taught me… allow and encourage someone to be who they are and when you see them, call them by name and show them just how wonderful it is to see them again.
I couldn’t find a picture of Mrs. Wilmot. I don’t even remember her first name. If anyone has a picture of her I would love it if you would send it to me. God Bless.
My first grade picture.
So shy…but I always remembering having an inner strength that came from within.
