If you think about Hello Kitty, you should probably be thinking about my English Teacher, Mrs. Zerbe. She has a relatively mild obsession with the friendly Japanese character and it’s filtered into her classroom. There are Hello Kitty stickers on her cabinets, Hello Kitty plushies decorating her counters, and Hello Kitty bandages adorning the fingers of her students.


There’s nothing I hate more than having to get up at six in the morning on a Monday, just to go to some place I don’t want to be, to learn some things I don’t care about - like math - and be judged by people who don’t care about me, but on those Mondays when I realize I’m going to have Mrs. Zerbe for half my day, all those other things are just a minor inconvenience.



Directly after a horrible class of Spanish and an equally horrifying math lesson, I rush into English with a grin on my face and eagerly take my seat, ready to laugh endlessly for the next hour and a half. Afterwards, I’ll have Creative Writing, a class where I get to thoroughly enjoy my passion for writing and be respected for my talent. Both of these classes are run with Mrs. Zerbe at the head, with her easy laughter, warm smile, and no BS tolerance. Both classes are the highlight of my day, perhaps even my school life in general.


Maybe it’s the way she allows for some joking and laughter, while still holding the class to the lesson at hand. Maybe it’s the way she interacts with us as if we were her own children, and not just her students. Maybe it’s the way she appeals to each one of us as an equal rather than as pig-headed teenagers. Maybe it’s the enthusiasm she has for teaching us, so palpable that in turn each one of us are equally as enthusiastic. Maybe it’s the way she makes us feel special, each in turn, rather than tear us down in hopes we’ll be better next time.



No, it’s definitely all of these things.



In this classroom, not only does Hello Kitty exist in high quantity, but so does the love she has for us. Every month, there is a “Student of the Month”. Before revealing who has been called, she goes through a list of why this person has been chosen. In December, I was shocked to have her eyes lock onto me after words I admittedly drowned out, and say my name while handing me a sheet. I was blown away. I hadn’t thought I’d done anything notable in her class, despite Mrs. Zerbe giving me a belly full of confidence every time I step into her room. She noticed that though, as she notices everything that happens in her domain. Just like every month, she takes the picture of the award winners, posts them up on a wall near the door, and there our faces sit until another batch of students have been rewarded. Once that happens, she moves these pictures to a Wall of Fame, where previous students brandishing similar awards linger.



Yet, Mrs. Zerbe is more than a teacher to me, and to other students as well. She is a friend. Our well beings is one of her main concerns. She will always readily offer her ear and a shoulder to lean on when we’re feeling down or out of it, just as she’s done for me. This teacher touched my life and made it into something beautiful when I needed something beautiful in my life. I know for a certainty that she’s done the same for all the students that have filtered into her classroom in the past sixteen years.


What else could I possibly say? Mrs. Zerbe is one of the kindest teachers I’ve ever known. She coaxes us through our work and encourages greatness. She will do anything for us. To know that I have someone like her on my side, to know that I have someone who will listen when I need to talk, who will value my opinion when I have one, and who will teach me when I want to be taught... it’s a wonderful feeling.



From now on, every time I see Hello Kitty, I’ll think of Mrs Zerbe and all those hours I spent sitting in her classes. I’ll remember how I laughed until my sides hurt, I’ll remember her compassionate smile, I’ll remember her joy for teaching, I’ll remember her love for her students, and I’ll remember the family I have in creative writing that she helped build.


To say the least, she has given me things I hadn’t expected to have; friends, family, love, knowledge, confidence. Thank you, Mrs. Zerbe, for being there when we need you.