The most miserable months of my life were during every school year. I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder--this means I get severe depression during the winter. And the winter happens to be nearly the entire school year. The hardest months for me are from January to about April, which is also where there are no breaks. I developed SADin sixth grade, and it has only gotten worse each year. Actually enjoying myself in school is rare, and it is even harder to find a teacher that makes being happy easy.
Second semester of sophomore year, I walked into my block Geometry class. My schedule had been screwed up, and I accidentally enrolled in Algebra a second time. No one caught it first semester and now I was half a year behind. I’ve been put in Block Geometry, where we went through the course at two times the pace of a normal class. I saw pods of desks, and my new teacher. I found my seat, sat down, and prepared for a normal class.
Mrs. Fulton was what made this math class different. I actually understood the material; and even more importantly, I cared about it. She made Geometry interesting and fun. Every day I looked forward to walking into her classroom. I laughed along with the class as she bounced around the front of the room like an excited kindergartner, which is rare during school. Each monday she would share a video to start out the class and brighten the day. I had so much fun during those 80 minutes, and I learned so much about Geometry.
Mrs. Fulton was extremely open and would share her personal life with us every day. I vividly remember one story of her jogging. She was running with her dog and a baby stroller down a hill, and the dog stopped to smell something while the stroller kept going down the hill. She acted out how she was stretched between the two, and the whole class laughed. The stories about her and her husband being together through highschool, college and living together currently, gave me hope for my own budding relationship. I felt close to her because of how much we knew her.
I felt comfortable in her classroom, and I had a great time every day. Walking into her class was like coming home after a long trip. Spending every day with Mrs. Fulton made getting through it easier. I will never forget her class, and the joy it gave me. Thank you, Mrs. Fulton.