In high school, I was definitely not one of the “cool kids.” From Freshman year up until Junior High, I did my homework on time, I paid attention in class, I was super quiet and always afraid to raise my hand — even though I always knew my sh*t. I never went the extra mile. You could say I was a conformist student. Just one of those kids whose names you forget because they don’t make a sound (I should know now as I’ve been a teacher myself). I respected and held my teachers in high regard, especially the really, really good ones. That’s why I can never forget Ms. Marrero.
So, I said that up until Junior High I was all of those nice things, right? Well, in my senior year I was a bit of a slacker, a case of senioritis, if you will. Still, I was a better kid than most of my classmates. It just took more out of…life to keep me motivated. That’s when Ms. Marrero, along with another teacher who happened to be her husband, came in the picture. I must say, I’ve been lucky to have had teachers who cared — except Ms. Hernández, she can go to hell. (Just kidding).
Ms. Marrero always switched things up and came up with fun ways to teach the class and keep us interested, always telling us how we were doing and what areas we could improve upon. She taught us girls a lot of life lessons, too, that had nothing to do with school. I think it was her who first showed me how to “curl” my lashes. Just a really fun and incredible mentor to have. I might’ve taken her for granted then, but I appreciate her so much now.
One of the nicest things she did for the whole class was buy everyone a personalized present for the Holidays. For me, it was this Barbie book.
Apparently, she had overheard my conversation with a classmate about my fascination with Barbie. I, once upon a time, wanted to collect Barbie dolls. I know, I was just crazy about dolls. It was a random conversation. I had even forgotten that I told anyone about it in school, so it took me by surprise when I opened that present and saw what it was. That day I realized what a special teacher she was.
It wasn’t about about the gift but the intentions. Paying attention to such small details can impact someone positively; it shows you that someone is paying close attention and they care. What she did was beyond sweet. And, of course it boosted her “ratings” with me and my willingness to go to her class. I don’t think I never missed one.
I no longer have feelings for Barbie, but I’ll forever keep this book because it’s one of my best memories from that challenging high school year. I’ll never forget how one teacher tried to make it all better, and succeeded.
I don’t know what happened to her, whether she’s still at the same school (I need to get on that Google search). But I hope I can thank her personally for everything she did one day, once again.
