It’s sixth hour and I’m not looking forward to another English class. I don’t do well in English and I have never truly enjoyed it. This year I have Mr. Freeburg’s Modern Literature class. I noticed that every seat was filled. The other kids seemed to be excited to be in his class and actually wanted to be there. I wondered, “why?”.  

Mr. Freeburg started the class with a chill conversation about everyday things. I noticed this changed the energy in the room. Not only did his lessons appeal to me, but to others around me as well. One of the greatest lessons from his class was about art, how no art is the same, and how insanely well art shows character. The lesson was that art does not exist, art is just an extension of your style, and art is something people merely view.

Because of this lesson, I wanted a better understanding, but the answer was right in front of me. This was to show kids it doesn't matter if you’re different, you will be viewed the same as others. Not only did Mr. Freeburg make the class environment tolerable, he made it interesting. He talked about topics most would not and he would point out flaws to make the atmosphere of the room more relaxing. Between the smiles he gave students, and the confidence to challenge the normal way of thinking, he was on the top of his game.

Day in day out, he never let himself fail. All semester long, Mr. Freeburg would continue to teach with passion. With every book we read he showed gratitude towards its type of literature. The biggest thing that resonated with me was when he would say, “there are no rules.” I never put much thought into it, neither did I think “why did he say that?”.  I can guarantee my interpretation is much different than his, but this was my best guess. I believe that Mr. Freeburg said this phrase because he wanted to remind all of us high school kids, if we truly want to go after something, do it, because there is nothing holding you back but yourself. I don't think too many kids picked up on his subtle comments like this one, but they would always relate the books we were reading to the question he would ask.  

Mr. Freeburg, I wish I could have seen the things you were teaching us when I was in your class, I wish I was involved, I wish I put the work in. I hope you’re still out there changing people's perspectives, because you changed mine about school entirely.