Contest: Write a Short Story Taken From Your Life | School Edition by eivor22

I would say I miss being a student, although that was the stage when I had so much homework to do, so many and hard examinations to take. You know why? It's because of the people I met along the way and the fantastic experiences that has made me who I am today.

I met this very strict teacher. I can say I have met a lot of strict teachers but she was different. She had this hard way of disciplining students. She had this technique that unfortunately no one would agree with. That's why no one would dare to register in her class. She was thought to be a no mercy teacher by many students.

Whenever we were given tasks by her, she would make sure we would finish it on time or earlier than that, or else we would receive a heavy punishment. That one was reasonable. Whenever we made some lapses with regards to any of our tasks, she was ready to throw us some harsh words to scold us. I thought, why "would she say those words to us?", It hurt sometimes, or I should say most of the time. She was questioned by some people in her way of treating students. Her response was " This is one way for them to get used to the words they might hear when they are already working". That was unexpected. I was like, "really?"

It seemed like she was preparing us to fight for a battle.

She noticed even the smallest mistakes we had such as the way we walk on the aisle, which side we walked on the stairs, and even how we ate our meals. She was that meticulous about everything.

Even she was that strict, I am still very thankful to her. Because of those things she taught us, I think I am a better person now. I act professionally now by being careful of my actions as what she taught us before. There's just one thing I don't apply in my life, and that is using harsh words to teach people. I know how it feels to hear those kind of words, so there's no way I would utter them to others.

There are people we meet along the way that we thought are not helpful. Let's just ponder and not judge right away. These people might be a help to us for our betterment. When I was a student, I didn't really value or appreciate those people. Now, that I am a grown up human being, I realized that each person who passes our lives has something to teach us.

Thank you to that teacher. I am what I am now, because of you.