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It's not controversial to say that the internet has gotten so stale nowadays, right? In the natural human desire to innovate and optimize, we’ve consolidated ourselves to only a couple of sites that provide relatively similar content, doing anything they can to keep our attention for as long as we allow them to siphon money from us. I feel like I was born at a perfect time where I can sort of remember the early 2010’s era of the internet where this trend was only starting to begin, and the computer was some arcane magical device that brought me Super Mario videos if I could figure out how to spell it. Being a lot older and slightly more pathologically curious, I spend a lot of time online reading about things that interest me, which unsurprisingly includes the internet itself. While doing research, I’ve noticed that writing a webpage in html and sending it to friends was much more commonplace in the early adoption of the internet, before the institution of social media platforms, and that fascinated me. Such a task feels oddly intimate, like receiving a letter in the mail, but with the benefit of being able to see it wherever you can find the internet. So, allow me to attempt to replicate that experience.

Words cannot describe my gratitude for your instruction over the last two years. Ever since I’ve met you for the Back-2-School store in 2023, you have treated me with kindness and patience that goes above and beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. The opportunities that you had a hand in setting me up for have radically improved my experience, and I cannot thank you enough for that. I genuinely enjoy being in your class, and being able to critically inquire and discuss political topics has been an enlightening experience for my educational journey. Having conversations is easily the best way for me to learn, and I owe a lot of my success to you.

Something I always found interesting is how good you are at expressing your ideas and navigating a variety of personalities in the classroom. You give off a sense of approachability in your cadence– a natural consideration of what your students think. Seeing you be able to weave interesting discussions in a casual, but educational manner is extremely interesting. I don’t know if this sounds odd, but I try to incorporate that sense of thoughtful presence. I’m not really the best at engaging spontaneously, but I hope you appreciate your impact in this subtle manner. Your very nature taught me valuable life skills.

I consider you to have the gold standard of teaching, and I am extremely privileged to have you as a teacher for two years in a row. Any student would be lucky to have you as a history teacher.

Anyway, the communication line is always open. At the bottom of this page, you can find my contact information. The website itself will be updated to include projects I’m working on, if you’re curious. If you want to get in contact with me for any reason, don’t hesitate to reach me at the contacts on the website.

I wish you the absolute best that this life has to offer. I hope this letter serves as an adequate acknowledgement of the benefit that you have brought into my life. May God bless your journey ahead. I’ll leave off with one of my favorite quotes by Henry David Thoreau in his journal, Walden, “Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star.” In no uncertain terms, every day is an opportunity to move forward and improve on yourself—to awaken to your own becoming, to rise toward the life only you can create. I still have much yet to learn, but I’m glad I was able to learn from you.