“A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination and instill a love of learning.” Brad Henry Being a teacher has always been one of the hardest professions. You have to master the subject you’re teaching, you have to be a good psychologist and at the same time a great artist. It’s not easy to deal with more than 30 children every single day; therefore not everyone can be an excellent teacher. I’m in 12th grade now and I have so many teachers who I love and respect but the only one who had the greatest influence on me was my 1st to 3rd grade teacher- Miss Gzoghyan. She was an ideal person who was like a mother to me, who inspired me and held my hand no matter what. She was my first teacher who taught me the alphabet, the numbers, multiplication and division and most importantly how to fight injustice in life and still remain a good person. I couldn’t help admiring her. I was only a 7-year-old child but every time I looked at her I saw the image of perfection. My teacher inspired me in so many ways. She helped me to see the things I didn’t see and supported me every time I failed. One day I was called to the blackboard for the first time. I remember my teacher asking me to solve a simple problem the answer to which I knew for sure but at that time I was so shy and unconfident that I became embarrassed and couldn’t solve it. I was at a loss. Tears appeared in my eyes. Everybody watched me and I was afraid to be laughed at. I felt so helpless that she came up to me. I expected her to scold me or get angry with me, but surprisingly she didn’t. Instead she took my hand and said not to be upset or cry. She told me that every successful person had failed at least once in his or her life and that failing is the key to success. She made me realize that in order to learn I have to fail but never quit. And since then I remember her words… “Fail but not quit”. That is how I reach my goals. I’m 17 years old now but I’ve reached most of the goals I set in front of me. I consider myself a successful person and that is due to her words that motivated me to overcome the obstacles by trying over and over again. My teacher also helped me to understand that the key to knowledge is passion. You have to love your job in order to do it right. She loved being a teacher, maybe that’s why she was so perfect at it. Her generosity, kindness and sense of humor appealed me more than anything, and I wasn’t the only one who loved her so much. All my classmates respected her and still remember her as the one who didn’t spare herself to teach us as much as possible. Although she passed away a few years ago her image keeps on inspiring me even now and her words always guide me through difficulties. So, dear teachers, inspire your students…