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DESCRIBE
A SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE IN YOUR LIFE...
"Our chief want in life is somebody who can make
us do what we can." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
We’re all bound to have that impossible crush on a
teacher. It’s a fact of life, a rite of passage, and for a girl
like me, a profoundly life-altering matter. Of course, when I walked
into Mr. P.’s class for the first time as a stumbling, bumbling
sophomore to obtain the summer assignment, all I was concerned about
was locking my eyes with his piercing blue ones. Still complacent,
diffident, and grossly naïve when I strolled back into his classroom
at the beginning of my junior year, I’d soon learn, with much help
from Mr. P., that all I had ever known had never been much at all.
So used to cruising through school with grades sufficient
to satisfy my parents, I realized early on that that would not be
the case for the Advanced Placement U. S. History class. Once I
recognized my inadequacy on the subject, I became so eager to impress
Mr. P. that that hour of extra studying was worth it if I could
answer even one of the questions he asked during his lectures. Once
I saw how much Mr. P. appreciated my effort through his consistent
praise of my work, another additional hour of reviewing Jeffersonian
democracy, Lincoln’s leadership, and FDR’s effective crisis management
quickly evolved into a genuine fascination and respect for American
politics and government. Before him, I could never picture myself
willingly attending a Democratic rally or giving tirades on Republican
ideology as I have done and still do. Now jokingly referred to as
a "bleeding heart liberal" by my conservative economics teacher,
I hope that I can make government the vehicle for realizing the
dreams of a nurtured social conscience.
In addition to his academic influence, I adopted Mr.
P.’s interests as my own and tried to emulate the personality that
I so adored. After he expressed his aspiration to become a scientific
prophet in astronomy, I indulged myself in the musings of Carl Sagan’s
terrestrial intelligence. When he hung up the photos of Sting and
U2 live in concert, I reintroduced myself to their sociopolitical
commentaries and their soul-stirring rock ballads, which I now listen
to obsessively. On a more personal level, I became determined to
be the female equivalent to the übermensch that Mr. P. exemplified
to me and to cultivate an artistic approach to life that eventually
resurrected my desire to draw. Most of all, my infatuation for Mr.
P. would directly develop into a full-blown love affair with the
man, the myth, and the legend of Robert Kennedy.
Plastered across Mr. P.’s classroom wall was the imposing
image of the man with the rumpled hair, the broad boyish grin, and
the tiny chip in his tooth. Overcome with the curiosity forced upon
by Bobby’s pervasive presence, I began to look into the idealistic
pursuits and ambitious utopian causes of the respected historical
icon. Then wooed by the portrayal of such an epic hero, I instantly
embraced him as a role model and placed him beside Mr. P. on a pedestal.
Robert Kennedy’s visions are now what I aspire to fulfill, and nothing
and no one could be more influential in pushing me toward a career
directed by a civic duty - not even Mr. P. himself.
Now, with just a few months from graduating and leaving
Mr. P. behind, what am I to make of these masochistic inclinations
in romance? I realize now that my adulation for him is rooted in
a need for nurturing and encouragement that I never received from
my own dispassionate and unimpressed father. In these days, I can
say that I am confident and motivated because much of what Mr. P.
taught and instilled in me and that I have been able to integrate
into my life the influence which once threatened to swallow my existence.
What I look forward to in life stems from the one person that I
most look up to. It’s the stuff that my dreams (and the plot lines
of Boston Public) are made of.
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