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Cerina Lee

Mrs. Mua

Eng Pub Hlth Per 2

May 5, 2019

Appreciation Essay

During my early years of high school, I had the privilege of taking Mr. Abejuela’s Math 3

class. I had met Mr. A once prior to taking his class in which I joined him and his Adventure

Club on a run to Applegate Park and we were guided through a series of obstacle courses we

were encouraged to tackle. With just this one encounter, I had an idea of who Mr. A was and the

amount of influence he had over the members of his club. In my world prior to knowing Mr. A, I

was very naive, close minded, and very careless with my actions because I lived in the present

with no regards as to what could happen in the future as a consequence. If I had never met Mr.

A, I’m sure I would not have the same confidence as I do today. Mr. A is one of the most

charismatic and confident people I have ever met in my life and I say that in the most humblest

way. His teaching technique was very unique because he taught his students more than just

mathematics. The amount of influential power I saw he possessed over his students was

incredible and inspiring. I was able to find a good friend in him, I was able to open up to him

about my personal struggles and he helped guide me through some of the roughest patches in my

life. He would never tell me what to do and what not to do, which I appreciated immensely, but

he would walk and think things through with me and I got to determine if the outcomes were

what I wanted for myself or not. My relationship with Mr. A is something I will always cherish

because after getting out of a mentally abusive relationship, I had turned cold and my self esteem
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was at an all time low. But Mr. A was able to help me get out of that mental state and I turned

things around and when I had lost all of my friends, I gained one in him. Again during my junior

year, I hit a really rough patch in my life when I lost my 14 year old cousin, Megan. I had lost all

sense of motivation to do good in school and at one point to even live life. Everything in my life

was in disarray; my whole family was silently struggling and grieving, my grades were falling, I

was always sleeping because in my mind, sleeping was better than being awake and aware, and

when my parents didn’t understand our behaviors, instead of trying to take the time to understand

us, they would tell us how we were feeling and belittle us for feeling that way. I had lost myself

and felt so alone but when things didn’t get better for me even after talking to a counselor, I went

and confided in Mr. A. Although he wasn’t able to fix all of my problems, he encouraged me to

take my life into my own hands and turn things around for myself. Even today I struggle with the

motivation to choose the higher road but I will forever remember the influence he had on me and

how he’s helped shape me into the person I am today. Not only did I adopt a different and better

mentality because of him, I became more independent and an overall better person than I was.

He helps me to remember to be confident in everything I do but also remain humble and do all

things with the best of my heart. I am always reminded that if I ever want something done, I’m

going to have to take things into my own hands and I have the power to change and determine

the outcome of things.