Letter to my 8th grade P.E. teacher

Dear Coach Fleming,

I was hoping to get in touch with you, not because I necessarily expect you to remember me, I know you've got a lot of students, but just to say thank you for looking out for me while I was in your P.E. class years ago. I remember having a really hard time during junior high. It's just hard to be different when as a kid all you want to do is fit in. And all of these stories that have cropped up recently about bullying and kids taking their lives because of it... I realize I dodged a bullet. I remember feeling particularly inadequate in P.E. classes where I felt more vulnerable to harassment from the other kids. But I remember you looking out for me. I felt like I had a friend in you, and that got me through some tough days. I remember you pulling me aside a few times just to get to know me. And I remember near the end of the year, you took me into your office and showed me how my running times had improved from when I started in your class. That meant a lot to me and I've never forgotten it. I've always been a good student, and I achieved several academic successes that year, but nothing meant as much to me as getting the "most improved" award in P.E. from you. So I was just thinking about how much I appreciated your kindness then and how much it means to me now, and I just wanted to let you know the difference that it made for me.

Adam