12 year old Marcus

I was always a shy kid back in primary school. I had a handful of friends and did not like the teachers very much. Not to mention my mandarin was bad at the time, I did not understand most things in school. This obviously led to scolding due to unfinished homework. However, there was one teacher in particular from standard 5 to 6 that was the only memory that stayed with me. She would always yell at me first before telling me where I was wrong in a slightly calmer tone. She was probably the nicest teacher I have ever met in my 12 year old life.

 

A couple years later, it was a Saturday, my friends and I had planned to go out to watch a movie at a nearby mall. In the mall, we were waiting for a few more friends at the cinema area while deciding what movie we should watch. After we finally found each other, we eventually picked a movie and went window shopping before the movie began. When returning to the cinema, after purchasing absolutely nothing, two friends suddenly shouted the words 'Hwang Lao Shi' which directly translates to yellow teacher (lol). At first I didn't think much of it and just followed them to see the teacher. As I got closer, I slowly realized who 'Hwang' teacher was.

It was her. She hasn't aged a day since I last saw her. I then proceeded to happily greet her with a big smile. She seemed to recognize the two friends in an instant but gave me a confused gaze. She said that she could not recall who I was and asked for my name and my class. I told her and even showed her my library card from primary school that I kept in my wallet. She still couldn't quite picture it as she has been teaching for over 30 years. After she left, I thought about how anti-social I was and what I could have been if I had just talked to my teachers. Furthermore, I thought about how no one would remember me because of my attitude of solitude. From then on, I swore to make my presence as memorable as possible to my classmates and teachers so that I would be remembered as clearly as possible. You only have one life, one opportunity, so make it a memorable one.