Teacher Week: College

College. Does anyone even remember college?

I do. I remember the classes.

I remember learning how to read all over again. I learned to love THE GREAT GATSBY and how to look at the characters in their own way.

Professors taught me how to write and how to research.

Professors taught me how to revise.

And I remember two specific professors: One who read the very first draft of "God Bless the Child" and encouraged me to revise it. And revise again. And at the end of the semester wrote on the paper: "You should look up some mystery magazines. This is good enough to get published."

And I remember another of my creative writing professors, an adjunct honestly, who took time out of her schedule to help me write my thesis... my very first attempt at a Jackson Donne novel. When it was finished, she gave me an A. I wondered aloud if I would ever be able to publish it.

She said without a doubt, "Yes."

I didn't publish that one, but from elementary school all the way through college there were teachers there to inspire me and push me along. There were those who guided me specifically and those who said things that stuck with me for years.

Without teachers, I wouldn't be where I am now.