I think the word, “english” should be a contronym. “English” is one word but there's two ways that one can interpret the meaning of it. It’s either “love” or “hate”. For me, I hated it. Just a few years ago, I didn’t enjoy reading or writing. I preferred watching television and playing with my sister. After all, why would I read when I could see the story physically? Why would I write when I was busy playing? However, everything changed when I met Ms. McKenna last year.

I attended school through Zoom because I caught Covid in 7th grade last year. Unfortunately, my Language Arts teacher wasn’t able to come to school for two months. I was informed that I had a substitute, Ms. McKenna. When I figured that out, I was scared. Ms. McKenna was an 8th grade teacher and I was frightened of learning from an 8th grade teacher. Even though the grade levels differed only by one, I didn’t know what the class was going to be like. But as time passed, I got to know Ms. McKenna better. Ms. McKenna was benevolent to everyone. She would respond to every one of my panicked midnight emails, provide constructive feedback to writing that needed to be worked on, and when I finally returned to school, I was greeted by a smile. Ms. McKenna was also a role model. She wouldn’t ever get mad at anyone but kept order in the classroom with her charismatic personality. She would provide example pieces that soon became my muse for inspiration. I could tell that she truly loved what she taught. She would say, “I often say that reading saved my life: It nourished me through difficult times in my childhood. I love sharing the pleasure of reading with you!”

Thanks to her, I came to love writing and reading. I would always almost-sprint to Language Arts with the eagerness of learning. Whenever I got a bad grade on a test, as I questioned my potential, Ms. McKenna would say, “Don’t doubt yourself over a quiz. I’m sure you understand the topic and more,” after helping me understand what I got wrong. I learned that I should appreciate the failures as much—if not more—than the successes in my life and learn from them. When my two months with Ms. McKenna was over, I was devastated. Ms. McKenna had been the one that helped me overcome the hardest obstacles of my life. She helped me love English. She was the one who flipped the page of my notebook, believing that I would learn to write on the next page.

The following year, I was overjoyed when I received my 8th grade schedule; I had Ms. McKenna for Language Arts. That was when I knew that my last year of middle school would be a meaningful one that I’ll never forget because Ms. McKenna is the teacher of my favorite subject; Language Arts. And just like that, my interpretation of “english” switched to “love”.