The Power of Someone Believing in You

Many time throughout my life I have heard the saying that one person can make all the difference in another person's life. I have always believed this to be true. Yet, I could never really pinpoint an adult in the context of school who really motivated me or enlivened me. To be honest, I always thought of myself as forgettable. I could tell that many teachers and professors forgot my name or even sometimes called me "María". I really hated that. However, in college I did have a few professors who really made a difference in my life, who made me smile and who motivated me. My most positive experience of them all came my senior year of college. It was in a Spanish literature class, towards the end of the semester. We had to write a ten page research paper as our final. The professor offered us the option to turn in a first draft which she would read and give feedback on before our final draft. She graded that first draft and gave us the opportunity to improve that grade. If you received a good grade on the first draft, you would not have to submit a final draft. When I received my first draft back there were red markings all over it, a sign that she read it in detail, but at the top it read, "Marina you did a great job. You can leave it as it is, but if you choose I can help you edit it and you can sent it into Elements" (an undergraduate scholarly journal). My first thought was "wow!" I never thought that my writing was good enough to be sent to a scholarly journal. She believed in me and my capabilities and in turn I began to believe in myself. Even though I was not published in the end, I did gain something. I learned to believe in myself and have faith in my academic abilities. I learned that I was capable of being a great writer and much more.
I look back so positively on that experience. I learned that one person really can make a difference, especially in education. My professor made such a difference in my life because she believed in me. I hope to be able to give my students the same confidence that she gave me, because knowing that someone believes in you is a powerful thing.