Sherri Kruger

My hero is Ms. K, my Badger High School math teacher that I had in the past. She saved me from basically failing everything. No joke. I started out as an A/B honor roll student and slowly fell towards rock bottom. I honestly believe I almost hit rock bottom more than once. I never thought anyone could do that. I had a rough life and she helped me through it all. I can't really recall how we got so close, but she is the only one I let get so close to me and know me so well. I would've probably failed 10th and 11th grade if not for her.

When I was about six years old, my mom passed away. My father then took care of my sister and I. He had never really been our father, and now he basically had to take care of us. That's the way it has been since the first night he took us in, he "had" to take us. The worst times in my life were 10th and 11th grade. This is when Ms. K came into play. She noticed my downfall as all the stress and worries took hold of me. I can't think of anyone that is as calm and persuasive as her. She was helping me even when I didn't notice. It's complicated. I used to be the strong unstoppable one that took everything, pushed it behind me, and never looked back. All this changed once I grew up and hit reality. My father was worthless and basically left my little sister to me, mommy. Ms. K found out bits and pieces of me just by talking to me.

I found prince charming in March of 2006. He brought my mind to places I had never been before. All my worries went away and everything was great. I told Ms. K about him and she was happy for me, but then again had the look of worry. She told me to be cautious and stay focused. He soon moved in with my dad, sister, and I. Things were great until my dad realized he made a mistake in allowing this. Aaron, my boyfriend at the time, and I started to quarrel. I started to realized that the only person I was ever with was him. My friends were mad and very disappointed with me. School was no longer an issue for me because I wanted to be with him all the time. As my father continued to treat me and my sister unfairly and as I realized more and more that my boyfriend was controlling every move I made, my schooling and social life was decreasing rapidly. Every time I looked into Ms. K's eyes I saw her worry and fear, fear that I was loosing my grip.

My boyfriend and I got a place together, where I am still living, and this is where the big problems hit. He was controlling and verbally abusive. I listened to him and did everything he wanted. I soon went into an even worse stage of depression than I was already in and blew it. I didn't care about school, my life, my future, nothing. I eventually never even showed up for school because he always thought I was going to cheat on him or not come back at all, I was scared. Ms. K automatically knew what was going on, but didn't scold me for this, but instead talked to me and showed me how worried she was. She helped me after school hours and even offered to let me stay at her house for the weekend (no can do with boyfriend). I never worked very hard compared to how hard she worked for me. Eventually, he cheated on me while I was at drill. I was so brainwashed by then I didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't end up graduating that year. She tried her hardest to keep me on my feet, but I soon lost contact with her. I left her worrying about me and every time I saw her after that, she knew something was going on, even if that wasn't what I told her.

I am trying my hardest to keep my life going. It's rough right now, but I know it will all pay off in the end. So now I am juggling a full time night shift job, school, family, bills, and friends all at once. It's hard to make a life right now, but I have been given my second chance and now I'm going to take it and cherish it. I am learning the full factor of responsibility and I also know the true meaning of the word caution. Through all of the pain I have been through, I know more and more everyday what being an adult really means. I could never have done any of this without Ms. K. No matter the disappointment I know she got because me, she was always there for me. In her eyes, I never failed and never will fail.