I’m not a morning person. If I have less than two cups of coffee, you will see the cranky side of me. But every morning, I heard “Bonjour, Anne-Marie!” from my spunky, witty, and may I say, sassy French teacher.
Mademoiselle is a short, motormouth, and sparkly-haired wonder woman. From her Elvis Presley playing cards, to her fly-swatter games, she always knew how to keep the class entertained.

From the start, she sought out to know as much as possible about each student. I remember the first day of French, she handed out a packet with different questions.  Usually, teachers don’t remember all the information, but Mademoiselle did.  Whatever you wrote in that packet, she remembered. Whenever it was a student’s birthday, she would make the whole class (in French) sing happy birthday. To this day, she remembers my favorite artists, food, and city, and presented examples with them if I needed help. She made French personal.

Mademoiselle was a friend to me. Having a teacher I can call a friend is not something I can say often. If I ever needed help, I wasn’t afraid to ask. No question was ever a stupid and I could ask questions as many times I needed until the new concept sunk in.

Even when I needed to talk about something that was unrelated to school, I could go to her. Being a typical teenage girl, I had boy problems. When I had a crush or boy issues, Mademoiselle knew. I joked around with her and she loved that I was myself with her. And Mademoiselle was caring enough to come to Cousin Subs where I took her order in French and shared time to chat.

I don’t take French anymore, but that doesn’t mean Mademoiselle isn't still in my life. Anytime we see each other in the hallway I come screaming and running to tell her about my day.

She is my motherly figure at school. She wants to see how my day is going and if I am doing okay. And if I ever need it, she will put me in my place. If I am being a little too loud (which happens frequently) or not focusing on what is front of me, Mademoiselle was not afraid to tell me what I needed to be doing.

I’ve never had a teacher care so much about how I am doing or what is going on in my life. Mademoiselle is like a blanket--she always makes me feel comfortable.

Even when I am working, doing homework, or just with friends, you’ll hear a “Oh zut alor!” (Oh dang) if I mess up. No matter where I am or what I am doing, French is still impacting my life.  

Mademoiselle is passionate, caring, and one teacher I will always remember. I never thought taking a foreign language would impact my life. And it is all because of one little French woman who kept me awake during my first hour class. Thank you, Mademoiselle, for everything.