My Hero

Her name is Ms. Pat.
She is everything I hope to one day be.
She has this amazing ability to make people feel like they matter. More amazing is that to her they really do.
When I met Ms. Pat she didn't seem to see all the odds stacked against me.
To her I had no limits other than the ones I put on myself.
She gave me support and encouragement and helped me find the strength to enroll in college. (Only because she was going to be my teacher) I decided to take her husbands class too. Anyone married to Ms. Pat had to be a pretty awesome person.
So my first semester in college I felt this fire ignite inside me. I loved learning. She knew I would.
I wouldn't have made that first step without her. She "scaffolded" me. Held me up until I could stand on my own.
I will never be able to express how much she means to me.
She wouldn't agree with me. She doesn't see herself as extaordinary. That's part of her charm really. She cares because that's who she is. In her mind she never went out of her way. She did only what came natural.
She is a natural hero. MY hero.