Early in my career, one of the school counselors came to me. A student had revealed in an anonymous survey that she had been sexually assaulted and felt afraid every day. The counselors could only determine that the survey came from someone in my class, and asked if I could help find the girl. That day, I told my story to every one of my classes, (glossing over the graphic details). Over the course of that year, students came to me and talked about their own issues, knowing they had someone who would listen and care.
Ten years later, a woman came to my classroom after school, and I instantly recognized her with a sinking feeling of certainty. She asked if I had remembered that day and the survey, and revealed that she had written it. But then she told me that I was her hero. That she had spoken about me with her personal counselor throughout that year. That I had inspired her with the hope that she could grow into someone bold and confident and successful. That she didn't need to end her life, because life would get better.
Sometimes you don't know all the ways your life touches the people around you. But I know that I reclaimed the power that was stolen from me at 14 and gave it to a girl the same age who needed it. That my life has a meaning and purpose that can never be taken away.
