Ali Talwar, 130 TESS

To my students (a letter you’ll likely never read but one that needed to be written),

Thank you! You don’t know how integral you’ve been to my service. There were days I could’ve easily walked away had it not been for your unrelenting love. I’m not quite sure what I did to deserve it, but it’s the best thing in my life on a daily basis. 

You guys are my beacons: Guiding me through the shadows of depression, anxiety and all the other darknesses that coincide with service. Your hugs, high-fives, fist bumps and “good morning teacher”s are the reason I get out of bed most days. You stopping by my desk just to talk, makes me feel like I matter, even if it annoys me. Your enthusiasm to come to my class and your sadness when it’s cancelled, showed me that I have made an impact here (even if it’s small). 

I can’t tell you how hard it is going to be for me to leave you all. I love each of you so much that I feel like I’m leaving 250 pieces of my heart behind. I want to see what amazing adults you become both professionally and personally. I want to be here to continue shepherding you down a better path, but I can’t. I have to go home. I wish I could answer your questions of when I’ll be back too, but I simply don’t know. It’s so far and expensive that it’ll likely be a few years. At which point, most of you will have graduated from our primary school making it harder for me to reconnect with you again. This kills me. 

I have loved every moment of being your teacher, even the classes where you refused to listen to me. You guys are the reason I am still in Thailand and the main reason it’s going to be so hard to leave. I want to thank you all for showing me love, kindness and appreciation, but there are no words that express the magnitude of my gratefulness. So I’ll simply say thank you, shed a butt load of tears and think of you for years to come. Thanks for being you, kids! 

Love,

Teacher Ali