Bridget Maret

As most of us know, having a good teacher can be slightly memorable. Having a great teacher can be like a stone being engraved in your head: they aren't so easy to forget. Mrs. Maret is that kind of teacher to me. She helped me for my two most horrific years at my middle school - Seventh and Eighth grades.

In the sixth grade, I had who I thought was a horrific social studies/literacy teacher. For one assignment, I had to find a book for my bibliography (annotated in the sixth grade!) She gave me two books, both for pleasure reading. I asked:
"Do you have the book HERO by Robert Cormier?"
"No," She said.
I then proceeded to ask her why she gave me the two books. She then said that I looked intelligent (which is a high compliment, seeing as I'm not that bright) and that I looked as though I could use some reading material. Little did I know that she would later help me more and more through the next two years.

During the sixth grade, I had entered a newer and revived bout with depression. No, I did not take medication for this beast during the fourth grade. The depression went away though during the first round (fourth grade) fairly easily. Later, though as a new man rolled into town, another friend and I began fighting with each other about how good of friends we were to each other. This cast me into a deeper fight with the beast of Depression. Through this fight, Mrs. Maret was there all the way. She bought alternative rock music on her iTunes(tm) library for me to listen to. She recommended me to the counselor and talked to me about why I was having a fight with my best friend. She, as well as I, were both confused about why the friend that I had known since the fifth grade and I were fighting.

Many times in a life, one comes upon a person that is kinder, more intelligent and/or wise than you. They go, with everything you say, way over your head. They are much more wise than you also. After everything you say, they usually correct it with a better idea, or the correct statement! They get on your last nerve and stomp on it until you realize that they (instead of destroying it) are nurturing it. These people are angels in the fact that what they are doing is a gift from god. Bridget A. Maret is as an angel in this sense. But how is she my hero? She didn't save a life...

Many people that I know have contemplated suicide. Many more still have committed "social suicide". To the extent when doing this, the come up with a plan. OR: their bodies do so unknowingly. Just like anorexia: they don't realize that the person is starving themselves, though they know what anorexia, bulimia, and other disorders are. My body committed social suicide unknowingly to me. Bridget Maret was there for me all the way through my time. When my best friend went down the drain, she was there for me. I didn't really recognize it then, but now I realize that this teacher is more than just that. She is a very good friend and companion.

In conclusion, Bridget Maret has helped me all the way through my three years at my school. Being a hero goes beyond just saving a life, or helping build wells in Africa (no offense). Being a hero means that you help someone selflessly. You help the other person without regard for your own heath or wellbeing. That is selfless love and heroism. Mrs. Bridget Maret is My Heroine.