A Positive Influence


There are millions of people that I know. Out of everyone, there's one particular person that has a positive influence in my life. This wonderful lady is JoAnn Hollenbach. She is my retired Honors Humanities teacher. I must say there can be several reasons why I chose this person. Ms. Hollenbach taught me as well as others to broaden our horizon. She wanted also wanted me to be open-minded and to have a voice, and to enjoy life.

Since I have graduated from Raleigh-Egypt High, I want to go beyond just living in Memphis, to go out and learn more. I can remember Ms. Hollenbach teaching a lesson about Italy and how she would travel and expand her thinking. This lesson impacted me because I want to go out and visit other countries and learn about their ways of living and a new viewpoint of other cultures. This one lesson Ms. Hollenbach taught me is always on my mind. I will call this a goal in life.

The next positive value is Ms. Hollenbach teaching me not to have a closed mind, but to see a better way of thinking. This influenced me to be prepared for the different reactions, beliefs, opinions, and ways of life from other cultural people. I believe it is a good thing to be able to state my opinion and show the world that I have a voice. She influenced me not be dumb or stupid; therefore, I have the eagerness to learn more and gain more knowledge. Knowledge is power!

The last thing that led her to influence me is to go out and enjoy life. She didn't want me to just be left out in the world, but to have this young spirit and to know that I am somebody. To me, enjoying life is making myself happy. For example, relaxing, watching TV, reading, going out to learn more education ideas, seeing theatrical productions, and knowing that I am happy allow me to know that I enjoy life.

Ms. JoAnn Hollenbach influenced me in several ways from expanding my horizon, being open-minded, and wanting to know more to have a voice that allows me to let others know how I think and feel.

1 comments:

  • Nice! I had an English teacher in 5th grade named Mrs. Carol who also had that same idea. She gave me a rabbit and some random things from her adventures to Japan, Middle East and across the country. She is really inspiring and always said things along the lines of "follow your dreams." She gave my friend's sister a ticket to Egypt which really surprised us all. She is only a school teacher, but she did really generous things with her money. I hope to see her before something happens. She is a true positive influence.