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Aubreane Aponte

Mua

Public Health P. 2

6 April 2019

Appreciation Essay

For my appreciation essay I have chosen to write about Señora Alamillo. She has been

my spanish teacher since I transferred to Merced High my junior year. Before I met Señora

Alamillo in my Spanish 2 class, I was a pretty shy student, never really spoke out loud in class,

especially Spanish. I also had a very negative outlook on life, struggles and hardships constantly

coming at me made high school rough. Coming into Merced from El capitan, a rival school was

hard, but spanish class with Sra. was always the best. I don’t think that there has ever been a day

that I truly dreaded going to her class. I truly think that if I would have never met Señora

Alamillo that I wouldn’t be as outgoing as I am today, I wouldn’t be as confident as I am, and I

can guarantee I would not be the all around person that I am. I think I would be very introverted,

very timid, and I would have as many successes as I have today.

Señora Alamillo has a very vibrant personality, every morning she has a smile on her face

and she’s ready to teach us, everyday. I don’t think I have seen Señora Alamillo have a bad day,

well if she has she never let her students know. She goes above and beyond the standard of

teaching. She is always there for her students, before, during, after, or even at lunch you name it.

Going to her class every morning puts me in a good mood, her outlook on life is so positive that

it is contagious. Sra. Alamillo is a very motivated, caring, and selfless person who has taught me

that everything was going to be okay. She makes all my problems disappear in class, she knows
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how to keep her students engaged with her and each other. She is very soft spoken but her words

and her character is powerful.

Junior year was very hard for me, not just with my academic either. My personal and

family life took a turn for the worst, I lost my grandma, relationships were tearing me down, and

school itself was getting really challenging. I can’t tell you how many times I broke down and

cried to Sra. Alamillo, while she sat there and comforted me, day in and day out. She always

understood everything, she always had the best responses too, like she experienced them all. She

helped me realize that everything happens for a reason and that everything was going to be okay

one day. She was there for me at my highest and lowest of times and I will forever be grateful to

her for that.

Señora Alamillo has had the biggest impact on me than any teacher in my entire high

school career. She has helped shape me into the caring and helpful person I am. She has

influenced me to take care of others, even when you have stuff going on yourself. I know she had

her own issues but she chose to be there for me, and for that I will be eternally grateful because

you don’t know how it feels to have someone there to pick you up at your lowest times, but still

treat you like you’re riding the waves in front of everyone else. Having someone like Señora

Alamillo, during which was probably some of the lowests points of my life, was a blessing. She

has made me want to help kids at their lowests, she has changed my mindset on life. I am a more

positive and outgoing person and that is all thanks to Señora Alamillo. She helped make me who

I am today and I am forever grateful to her.