[day eight] influential people

DAY EIGHT: TEN INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE

[name ten people who have influenced you in your life]

rather than stating the obvious, i thought i would go about this the way my sister in law did and name ten people who probably would have never thought they would be on this list.
[to the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world] 

K- Mrs. Allred who let me sit on her lap when i began crying because a kid brought his tonsils in a jar for show and tell.

1- Mrs. Fischer who i prayed and prayed i'd get. she passed away unexpectedly at the beginning of the school year, but i was lucky enough to be one of her last students. 

2- Mrs. Jensen who forgave me when i cheated for my first time and is the reason i am a spelling fanatic.

3- Mrs. Brown who was my neighbor and helped me pass off all of my multiplication tables that year.

4-Mr. Barker who challenged me so hard; it was that year i decided when i grew up i would become a teacher.

5- Mrs. Conlin who welcomed me to miami, florida with love and kindness; who didn't laugh at me when i called her Sister Conlin on the first day of school in front of the whole class.

6- Ms. Cieslak who stood up and talked with the whole class about not bullying a fellow classmate.

7- Mrs. Beckles who let me sit in on her class for most of my periods when my other teachers didn't show up to class, put in a R movie in all class, or were letting the kids surf inappropriate websites.

8- Mrs. Pomerantz who tried too hard to be best friends with all the students, i learned very well that was her downfall.

9- Mr. Gore who graded me so hard that i just kept trying harder.

10- Mrs. Sasamoto who critiqued my drawing and art, showed me where i was "cheating" in my drawing, making me all the better.

11- Mrs. Shennkahn who introduced me a variety of books i would have never read.

12- Mr. Williams who was the hardest, yet best teacher i had. after finishing AP English, reading a surplus of books, and writing a dozen of essays and papers, college English and Writing was an absolute breeze.

i went to 6 different schools from K-12.
utah, florida, and virginia.
these experiences have influenced and inspired me
to being the best teacher i can be 

he was not your average bus driver and i even knew that as a first grader.
he wore a plaid shirt and overalls every day and every once in a while would give a faint smile or pick up the intercom to tell a joke.
he reminded me off my grandpa and i looked forward to seeing him every morning and afternoon.
each day my brother and i, as we were getting off the bus would smile and thank him.
in second grade i moved schools and didn't see him again til 1997, the year my grandpa passed away.
my brother and i were standing near the casket, looked over and saw Bus Driver Joe!
as it turns out, he and my grandpa were good friends.
we asked him if he remembered us and there was no doubt about it- he did.

he said he specifically remembers that he could always count on us thanking him each day and how much it meant to him.

that day i learned how a thank you can echo for years.

skip (no pun intended) ahead to my early 20's and Sister [as i know her best] R. had a deep impact on my becoming.
my aunt and her grew up together and she knew my grandma well and would always share stories about her, which i always appreciated.
she is a strong southern woman with the sweetest accent, kindest eyes, warmest smile, happiest demeanor, strongest testimony and the most caring heart.
she has a God-given talent in making people feel loved and important and individually special.
she always made me feel my best and the compliments she owed me still ring in my ears and encourage me to this day.
she hand wrote me letters even after i moved, what a sweetheart! when i finally make my way back east, i'd love to sit and chat with her. 

i had to drive an hour to and from school each day for my student teaching.

but having liz as my mentor made it completely worth it.

she's blunt and to the point, consistent, a bit colorful at times... and always someone you can count on!

she just won the award for teacher of the year and i feel honored to have been able to work with her these past two years. she wants me to take her position this year and i am overwhelmed with having to fill her shoes. she truly is the greatest elementary teacher i know!

quite possibly one of the best dates i've been on.
the kind where you're not looking forward to the end of the night
the kind where you are hoping they text you at the end of the night saying how much fun they had (he did :))

the kind where you do see if your first name fits with his last... (kidding!)
he was a blind date, and my last date in rexburg at that.
a good friend of mine set us up saying we'd make a great match. and we were!

but as luck would have it, we met just a little too late.
i graduated the very next day and was left with our mutual friend telling me he was interested in me and wished we had more time to get to know each other and date.... (long, mournful sigh)
the reason he is on my list is not because he is 6'4, charmingly handsome, country boy+baller, A++smart, a hard worker, funny, easy to talk to, spiritually sound and  fun chap....
but because he was the hope i needed just at that time in my life to remind me that there are good things to come, that there are good boys out there and there is a good boy out there for me.
who knows, maybe we'll bump into each other again. (;

i really didn't want to put friends on this list because that's kinda cheating! all my friends inspire me!

but even before bess and i even became friends i always noticed how clean her language was. 

obviously this angel didn't have a sailor's mouth, but i mean by how uplifting she was of others and how she held others in high regards.

she would never speak ill of anyone or even laugh along.

out of all my 48 roomies, bess and i lived together the longest, all the way up to her engagement.

and throughout all the years we lived together, i have still yet to hear a negative comment from her lips.

truly an inspiration and a Christ-like example my bess is!

the most lovable men are the old ones. 

in the summer of 2006 i landed a job working at S&K Menswear where i got to assemble ensembles and chat with old man jon and old man bill. 

they were downright hilarious. they had worked together for nearly 20 years and we're quite the pair. 

this picture reminds me of them to the T. they even wore the same hats!

i would bring them in subway (where i was also working) and we'd sit in the break room where they would tell me about life, make jokes, tease the new hire, keep asking me WHY oh WHY i chose to go to school in idaho, and all the sorts.

even though i was the odd ball at work (one of 2 girls, mormon, idaho-bound and 18) they kept me under their wing.

and when he-who-must-not-be-named was eyeing me and making suggestive and inappropriate comments, well, it was these two men who gave him a good talking and escorted him out of the store to never be seen again. 

i truly love these two.

i only met him a couple times, but at 17 years old during Youth Conference it was this man's talk who changed my life by answering a 3 year question. immediately after his talk i walked up to him and thanked him and let him know how much he had helped me. he taught so strongly with the spirit and that's one of the only times in my life that i've felt the [that talk was just for me] feeling. thank you bishop bowman.

i have always held a secret special admire for jay barker. he and his wife were the first people to welcome my dad and his family into the neighborhood and invite them to church. 

jay is a seasoned hunter, and his house is proof. 

as and kid (and even just last week!) i have always enjoyed walking around the house and looking at all his trophy's. 

my favorite has always been his bison he has mounted in the den.

i could stare into those glass eyes all day and still be overwhelmed, and i've finally almost  reached eye-gazing height. 

as a young girl i always admired him from afar and would seize any small chance i could get to talk to him. i remember one evening he took my friend and i around the trout farm and gave us the behind the scenes tour of it all. i loved that experience.

most of my friends know exactly who he is. 

they call him my "bigfoot uncle" and i'm just fine with that. 

i remember the day i finally worked up the courage to personally asked to hear firsthand about the stories i had heard all growing up. 

it definitely made it in my book of memories, one of the best hours spent!

anyone who know's jay barker know's he's a man of his word and a man of integrity.

and as silly as it may sound, i admire him for not minding what other people say or think about him. 

my cousin just shared this video about one of jay's experiences on youtube last night, take a look!

out of my 35 classes there is one class that makes me doubt ever wanting to become a teacher.
28 little first graders whose class placement completely backfired.
their teacher struggles with the class behavior and who needs the vice principal in their daily.

one day as i was sending them on their way i went to my desk to have a quick sit down wondering-what the heck-i was going to do-moment and little kendra came skipping on up to me.
she gave me the greatest hug and said, "ms. brassell, we have a really hard class don't we? i just want you to know you're doing a very good job and i think you're the best teacher in the world!"

a first grader.
i just wanted to cry in her arms! every single class i can count on Kendra to model positive class behavior as well as interject her reprimanding, yet humble comments to the class...

"class we need to show ms. brassell our peacebuilder behavior"

"ms. brassell if you need to take away all our class points because of the behavior then i'm willing to make that sacrifice."
"class please show ms. brassell the respect she deserves!"

before she walks out of the music door she is sure to leave me with the sweetest compliment and give me a tender little hug.

i want to kidnap adopt this little gem!  (;
(i'm pretty much as old as my first graders parents anyway!)

last week the cutest mom came up to me and said, "excuse me are you miss brassell the music teacher?" and told me how much Kendra loves me and loves coming to music and came home so happy one day saying, "mom! ms. brassell says she wished she had 25 Kendras in the class!"
it made my world to know i had impacted at least one student in that class!
but truly she is the one who has impacted me. she keeps me sane, and reminds me during that dreadful hour that i really do love teaching.
i am happy to report that with a couple interventions, tough-love, prayers, candy, and kendra... this class has finally made it to 80 points. only 20 pts away from their class party!

<3