Personal Narrative: Miss Viola Swamp

In fifth grade, I had a teacher by the name of Mrs. Sera. Even typing her name gives me this cold feeling inside; she eerily resembles Miss Viola Swamp from the children’s book Miss Nelson is Missing. Viola Swamp was “the meanest substitute teacher in the whole world.” Mrs. Sera, on the other hand, my full-time educator and seemingly just as mean. She had a long pointy chin, a fairly large nose, and extremely thin lips that rarely ever smiled just like Miss Swamp. During this year leading up to middle school, I struggled in every subject: math, science, social studies, and language arts. The only parts of the day I succeeded in were recess and lunch. I remember one day, I had a test in science. I received a 23%. This is still the lowest grade

I have ever received on anything that I truly attempted to do well on. Out of embarrassment and disappointment, I wrote Mrs. Sera a note. In that oh-so-childish letter, I told my teacher how truly sorry I was that I did so poorly on my test and that I would appreciate a retest. It took a lot of guts to stand up, walk to her desk, and hand in this letter. Terrified of her response, I walked back to my seat, sat down, and watched as she read. To my surprise, she crumbled up my paper and tossed it in the trash, her face as opaque as ever. Heat flooded my face and tears swelled at the rims of my eyes. I could not begin to tell you the embarrassment I felt. This set a fire under my rear. I was angry, disappointed in myself, and completely humiliated. I knew then that I had to start applying myself to the best of my ability.

Fifth grade will go down in history as my worst year in school, but definitely the most beneficial. From sixth grade on, I receive nearly all A’s in my course. The occasional high B haunted me on rare occasions, but for the most part I worked to the best of my ability to achieve my goals. Throughout the years after middle school I began to realize that school was not what defined me. I had leaned so heavily on the praise I received from getting A’s that I began to think it was my doing and not the Lord’s. As a follower of Christ, I find that I cannot succeed in what God wants me to without utilizing the strength He has given me. When I do decide to walk a different path, I am constantly reminded of the incredibly weak and depressing sinner I am without Christ. While Mrs. Sera is the one who pushed me to want to reach my full academic potential, Christ is the One I utilize in achieving this. Of course there are days where I am tired, busy, and just plain lazy, but my God is stronger, more attentive, and more active than I will ever be. With a passion to become a fully-devoted Spirit-empowered Christ follower, I know that Christ can and will achieve the academic success He desires for

me.