Everyone has someone who has inspired them in some way, shape, or form. For many people this can be a friend, an older person, or even a movie star. Mrs. Sharon Meyer, my high school math teacher, is who inspires me. She is a wonderful teacher, a genuine person, and above all an inspiration to others.

First of all, Mrs. Meyer is a wonderful teacher for several reasons. How many teachers spends extra hours several nights of the week just to make sure papers get graded on time? Mrs. Meyer does. Sometimes, she will stay at the school until midnight or later, grading papers, tests, or making lesson plans. In addition, if a student misses a day because he or she is sick or ill, Mrs. Meyer will come to school early or stay late after school to reteach the lesson to him or her. She is completely dedicated to the benefit of the kids she is teaching. Another thing that I admire Mrs. Meyer for doing is making her students actually learn. There are so many teachers that don't care if their students learn or not. Mrs. Meyer gives individual attention to everyone and makes projects and real world application problems to help us better understand the topic she is talking about.

Next, Mrs. Meyer is a genuine person. She does her job with pride and never gives up no matter how hard it may get or the challenges she faces. I am sure there are many times that she has considered going home and not worrying that the papers needed graded or that one extra person that needed help. She inspires me to do everything to the best of my ability. When I get a job, I will now try to do it to the best of my ability because of her, I see how many people have done better because of her. Another thing that makes her a genuine person is the fact that she not only cares about each student, but if they are having a hard time in their family life, or are new to the school, or come from a bad background, she takes that one extra step to help them and make them feel welcomed. That is a true teacher.

Also, Mrs. Meyer is not only an inspiration to me, but to others as well. I am not a strong math student, and I wasn't for sure if I wanted to take Calculus or not. She encouraged me to try it and assured me that she would help me along the way. I am grateful for everything she has done for me and helped me with because now that I am a senior in high school and completed four years of math, three of those years being with her. Math is now my highest scoring subject, and I am very skilled at it. Mrs. Meyer has also helped my uncle. My uncle Ryan went on after college to get his math degree, and he told me, “Mrs. Meyer is the sole reason I did as well as I did with college level math.”

Another thing that I believe deserves to be mentioned about Mrs. Meyer is that fact that she underwent breast cancer treatment years ago, and has been in remission ever since. Even during this time, she remained faithful to teaching. She always scheduled appointments for cancer treatment on Fridays so that it didn't take away from teaching time, and she still wanted to teach as much as possible. That is true dedication to her students and her job. Not many teachers would be able to stay strong enough to do that, and I think she needs to be commended for her strength even in the toughest times. Through her experiences with cancer, she educated many students about what she was undergoing.

So, to sum it up, Mrs. Meyer has helped many people I know of. If there were more educators out there like her, think of all the growth and intelligence that would overflow in schools. I believe that Mrs. Meyer is a wonderful math teacher, with a genuine personality, as well as an inspiration to others. Always optimistic about situations and never giving up, to me that is exactly what Mrs. Meyer has. As Helen Keller once stated, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement, nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”