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My Favorite High School Teacher
Writing the essay “How Introverts Can Tell Off Bullies” has brought up memories of my favorite high school teacher, Ms. Downard (Pam, I think).
She was divorced and young, probably in her thirties. She taught ninth grade English — the start of high school.
She was the first person to tell me I have a talent for writing, and she started my getting stories & poems published in the school paper. The first story I wrote for her class involved picking a title out of a list in our English textbook, and I chose the title “My Admirable Aunt” and created my character Amaryllis Farkly, an eccentric cross-dressing spinster witch who lived in an English manor-house with three dragons and a black cat.
Ms. Downard loved that story, and her positive feedback took me by surprise. I’d been depressed through most of my childhood, showered with the message that I’m inferior and don’t matter. She made me realize I have something: writing talent. (Decades later, a narcissistic sociopath tried to gaslight me into believing I’m devoid of talent… and failed. I remembered Ms. Downard. Suck it…