Inspired By…

05.11.15

I am constantly amazed at how our crafting industry is filled with so many wonderful people. Inspiring, kind-hearted, talented people. So much inspiration.

This week, my friends at My Favorite Things are celebrating this awesome inspiration with a celebration called Inspired By…

I love this idea! Each day will focus on different topic:

  • May 11 – Tell us about an Inspirational Teacher You Once Had
  • May 12 – Tell us your Favorite Inspirational Quote
  • May 13 – Tell us about an Inspirational Coach or Mentor You Once Had
  • May 14 – What Historical Figure Inspires You and Why?
  • May 15 – What Artist Inspires You and Why?

For more information, visit the MFT blog – they will have prizes, too.

So today’s topic is about an “inspirational teacher.” Believe it or not, my most inspiring teacher was my high school calculus teacher. (Yep – before my crafting days, I was a math geek!) Mr. Watson encouraged us to work hard and be kind. This message really inspired me and is something I try my best to live by every day.

Mr. Watson’s encouragement and kindness inspired me tremendously. I ended up going to college and majoring in mechanical engineering. And I worked *really* hard. I studied a lot and had to put in more effort then most. I was really good at math, but the engineering stuff didn’t come naturally. But I put in the work, graduated with all A’s, and got a great job. I worked as an engineer for 5 years before I quit to work in the craft industry. And although I don’t use the math that Mr. Watson taught me, I still live by his most important lesson – work hard and be kind.

I would love to hear – who inspired you to do what you love? Please share in the comments below.

See you soon!

 

 

 

 


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70 thoughts on “Inspired By…”

  1. I was inspired that cuteness mattered and that my handwriting could be special by my FAVORITE TEACHER ever – Mrs. Robyn Thiot, she encouraged me to be creative, and gave me the desire to want to be unique in the things I did!!! Love her and the way she would wink at me during class and give me A++++++ on my work that I had worked so hard on – she really taught me to do my best on projects and to go the extra mile and add some sparkle in everything I did!!! I have lost touch with her but the effect she has had on my life is SO FAR – REACHING!!!

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  2. My piano teacher, Sister Mary Angela, was the teacher who mentored me throughout grade school. When you meet with someone for 30 minutes every week all year for 7 years – they have an impact on you. She taught me the love of music, that practice made perfect, cared about how I was doing in school and stepped in when I needed a good swift kick in the butt! I would not be the person I am today were it not for her care and concern. She was well into her 60’s when I was here student. I know she has to be a saint in heaven now for all she put up with me. God bless you Sister Mary Angela!

    Reply

  3. Mr. Joseph Judkins was my Band and Geometry teacher, he inspired our small school to do
    our very best in everything. In 1947 when I was a freshmen in High School our lead cornet
    player died suddenly. I was automatically promoted to the first chair in the band. It
    was a terrifying experience, but Mr. Judkins told me to do the very best I could and practice
    a lot. He was patient, but firm. The next 3 years our band and ensembles won many prizes at the contests. On Awards Day at graduation he presented me with his baton he
    had used all the year.

    Reply

  4. You and I have a lot in common, Jennifer! I too had a wonderful math teacher, Algebra, however. He had a wonderful sense of humor and really enjoyed being an animated teacher! Even though I love math, it seemed that due to his excitement it helped other to enjoy it too! I am in the trade if civil engineering and graduated in Materials Science and have been in the Construction inspection industry for over 10 years now. I like it but I don’t know if my heart is really in it or if I want to do it for the rest of my life. Well, I guess it’s never too late to switch gears! Never too old to learn new things!

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  5. I’ve had a lot of teachers that have had an effect on me – from inspiring me to get a degree in something that I was passionate about to making me realize that people (and life in general) are sometimes very unfair. But the teacher who had the most profound effect on me was my aunt. She was a grade-school teacher, but the things she taught me didn’t have to do with school. She taught me the immesurable value of a kind gesture and always reminded me how the richest people are those who give to others without expecting anything in return. Every year, she sent me a card for my birthday with an amazingly positive, genuinely warm and brilliant message inside. That one small gesture kept me smiling and feeling loved the whole year round. It’s been several years since she passed, but I still remember her every birthday and feel truly blessed to have known her.

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  6. Even i’ve had a very inspiring teacher.She was the one who taught me how to achieve my goals. She is my mom !!! im not homeschooling. She is a person of courage ,wisdom and many more superb qualities.So i am really thankful for God to have given me a teacher like her.

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  7. I would have to say my fourth grade teacher Miss Shiller was one of my most inspirational teachers. She was young, fun and energetic. She made every subject fun, from music to math. I have a second one…my eighth grade English teacher Miss Pieja, she was strict yet kind and she pushed me to try harder.

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  8. My Grade 6 teacher Mr. Ibuki. Even years later when our family had moved away, he remembered our family. He was kind and caring and helped me with my most feared subject…..math.

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  10. Inspiration quote:
    “A people that values its privileges above its principals soon loses both.”
    …..Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Reply

  11. I was Inspired by a Surgeon who I worked for and who I actually had a Personal Relationship with, as one of his Patients years earlier!! He actually attended my H.S Graduation, as it was a TOTAL miracle I was there to ENJOY that accomplishment!! =) Anyway, when I actually got into College and made it to my Independent Study Internship I KNEW I wanted to do it at Children’s Hospital (where I had been for 3 years as a Patient when I was 10-13 yrs. old) I wanted to HELP the way they had helped me!! If you’ve NEVER had to experience Children’s Hospital you probably wouldn’t understand just how AWESOME this Place is, not just for the Patients, but for the ENTIRE Family!! I wouldn’t WISH this experience on ANYONE, but if you have too go through it, this is the MOST AMAZING Place to be!! I was SO EXCITED when they accepted my Application to be an Intern and I was able to work side by side and learn from the SAME AMAZING Doctors and Nurses who had once taken care of me!! =) I think it was just as EMOTIONAL for them as it was for me!! (I was a REALLY RARE and DIFFICULT Case so they ALL Remembered me) I will ALWAYS be SO GRATEFUL!! Not only for the fact that he helped to SAVE my life, but also that he TAUGHT me and INSPIRD me to become.be the BEST Surgical Technician I could be!! I’m in AWE of his Caring Heart and how his Patients are MORE than just a Patient #!! He gets to KNOW them and their Families and is also one of the MOST AMAZING Teachers!! Children’s is a Teaching Hospital, so they have Interns in ALL areas of the Hospital and I think that is another reason it is such an AMAZING Place!! THANKS Dr. Steve Raynor for being who you are and for being an AMAZING Doctor/Teacher/Friend the list goes on and on!! I WILL ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL and will ALWAYS THANK God for the role you have played in my life and for how you have affected my life in more than one way!! =)

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  12. My vocabulary teacher told me in 9th grade never pretend to be something you’re not or someone because you’re beautiful for who and what you are.

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  13. My most inspiring person is my sister. She encouraged me to go to nursing school and finally I listened. It was the hardest thing and the best thing I ever did. My sister remains to this day one of the smartest people I have ever known, and she always amazes me at what she knows and what she can do. She just finished her Doctorate. I, being older, am not quite so motivated, I did manage to complete my Master’s. She is always the first person I call to discuss my day or any party of my life. Debra

    Reply

  14. As silly as it sounds, my grandma used to always say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff. ” I listened to the deeper meaning and still think about it. Even now, when life does not seem to be going my way, I think about my struggles and it amazes me how much of it is not worth the sweating, because it is so often such “small stuff!”

    Reply

  15. My most inspiring teacher was my algebra teacher. She was stern, but taught very clearly. She didn’t accept nonsense, but we knew she always had our best interests at heart. She was patient with me when I missed the start of a key unit due to illness, and she was part of what inspired me to my profession as a high school math teacher. Thank you Mrs. Grass!

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  16. My most inspiring teacher hmm… my fist grade teacher Mrs Joostuizen…..she had a heart of GOLD. Her friendly smile always stuck in my head. I shall never forget her. Bless her heart.

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  17. Many of my teachers influenced my life in positive ways, so much so that at a very early age I decided that I wanted to be a teacher. I taught English and Natural Sciences for over 20 years, even though I’m not teaching any longer, I still think that it’s the mos rewarding career.

    Reply

  18. Mr. Joseph Grink. Social Studies and English teacher for middle school for me. Taught me to learn for the sake of learning. Not for grades, or any other reason.

    When I was 25 and had just moved back to the States (Ohio, actually), I tracked him down and called him to thank him. Was pretty neat. Even on the FB page for the school that I attended, EVERYONE thinks he was the greatest.

    Good man.

    Reply

  19. Mrs Read my Latin teacher made her subject such fun – she even gave us all Latin names based on our actual names. I learnt so much about the construction of languages from her and I still find I use bits and pieces of my knowledge today.

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  20. I just wanted to know if you’ve ever used the die from spellbinders that has slits across the bottom. I think they must be for threading ribbon through them. I would love to see a video with some of your ideas using it. It didn’t have enough slits to use ribbon and then tie it in a bow. It did make a pretty card but it didn’t look quite finished.

    Reply

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