OPINION
I have so much for which to be grateful, especially this year.
Last Thanksgiving, I could not have predicted the way my life looks now, but I couldn't be more grateful to be married to a wonderful man who loves our girls as his own.
Despite how much joy I now feel regularly, my heart is heavy this week.
I found out on Sunday that one of my favorite teachers had died.
Donna Anglin, who taught me English and history at Hamilton High School, was without a doubt one of the people who has had the most profound influence on my life.
Mrs. Anglin is second only to my mom in teaching me the skills I use on a daily basis in my career.
It was through her style of lecturing that I learned how to prepare for any professor's teaching style in any college course.
In fact, her classes were more challenging than a lot of my professors' were.
She shared her well of knowledge with every student who wanted to swim in the deep end, and even several who didn't.
Donna Anglin loved her students like family, and she loved her family fiercely.
She was tough, and she didn't let you off the hook just because she liked you. Mrs. Anglin gave me grief constantly throughout my three years in her classroom for how atrocious my spelling was, to the point where she required me to get an electronic pocket dictionary so I could check my own spelling at a moment.
I'm pretty sure that's why I passed that portion of the test I had to take to even pursue journalism in the first place.
A few weeks ago, when I was talking with friends about history and why they hated those classes growing up, I had a reminder of why I was so lucky to be Mrs. Anglin's student.
She reinforced a love of both English and history that heavily influenced the degrees I pursued at college—journalism and political science— and she shared her love of the world with generations of students.
I knew this day would come, but it hurts to say farewell, Mrs. Anglin.
I hope to always make you proud.
Abigail Bardwell is the Editor & Publisher of the Post-Signal. She can be reached at aallen@postsignal. com.
