This is another letter from a former student who is up at USU. I’m sharing here with permission. She sent it earlier today.

Hey,

It’s been a while since I’ve talked to you. It’s really weird to think that I was your student over six years ago. I mean, in all honesty, I don’t really remember anything from your class. But I do remember the way you made me feel in your class.

You know, when you’re a 12-year-old in middle school, you’re emotional and the whole world is out to get you, but I remember being 12 and that all felt real. It felt like it was important. I was emotional and dramatic, but instead of making us feel like we were crazy and annoying, you made us feel like it was okay. That is was okay to feel overly emotional.

I mean, I’m not really like that anymore, thank god I grew up, but thank you for being such a great teacher during the hell that was middle school. I know, this is super random and really out of the blue, but after surviving my first month of college, I’ve just been thinking a lot about middle school and high school, and I just wanted to thank you for being such a great teacher when I had you.

For always listening to me when I would whine and complain about the stupid things in life. The stupid things that weren’t even that important. Thank you for always being there when I was in 9th grade, even though I wasn’t your student and the years after when I was in high school. You made one of the biggest impacts in my life in all of my years of school. All through middle school and high school, you definitely made one of the biggest impacts, and I’m still very grateful for that.

I mean, I’m in college and I still think about your life lessons from 7th grade. They were really powerful and such an important part of my middle school memories. Thank you for making me feel like I mattered to the world, and I was important. Because I remember at that point in my life, I didn’t really have anybody. I didn’t really have someone who made me feel important to the world, so thank you for that. It means more to me than you will ever know.

Thanks for listening to me when I would talk about my home life when I didn’t have anyone else to tell. My relationship with my dad got a lot better after I moved out. I have a really great relationship with my older brother now that he’s back from his mission. College life is cool.

So yeah, that’s it I guess. I don’t know what really inspired me to write this email. I was just thinking about 7th grade and what it was like to be a little newbie at a school, just like I am now up here at USU, and it made me think about everything you would tell us and all of your life lessons and pep talks. Man, I could still, to this day, go for a good ‘ol pep talk from Spencer Campbell. Thank you for everything you taught me about life, many of those lessons I still apply to my life now.

Well, I’ve spent that last almost hour and a half composing this email, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. This was really random, but it felt needed. Thank you for everything you did for me. You really were one of the best teachers I’ve ever had.

Love, No Code (Name Changed Obviously)

Oh, and I definitely still think of 7th grade every time I hear “Imagine Dragons” “It’s Time”.