Hi dear readers, it's been a while! I wish we were in a whole different situation, as Covid-19 has put our world upside down for the last few weeks... I do hope that in the months to come, this chapter would be over and you all could be with your beloved ones safe and sound. The quarantine has given us the chance of doing things we normally leave aside, so I need to take full advantage of the time I've got and write down a bit around here. In fact, today's motion hasn't been difficult, as I've had it on my mind for quite a while, but giving the chance, I just decided to move forward with my plan. 

It's been 10 years since I started my way towards becoming an English language teacher, I recall that when I took the PSU (Thanks God it's now gone.), I was very nervous and totally under pressure, my mom and dad actually wanted me to study in a traditional university so I could have the chance of applying scholarships (which is pretty absurd, as I've never got at least one in my whole life) and a higher academic reputation, etc... As you can imagine, it all turned up pretty bad, I didn't get what I wanted and it all suddenly seemed to be blue and quite dark. My life changed completely in a couple of hours, my parents were kind of dissapointed and my plans seemed to be momentarily paused. Indeed, I took the summer of 2009 as a getaway, I disappeared from the radar and my friends had no idea about me for several days. Now that I get to think a bit about it, I suppose I was depressed or something like that as the only thing on my mind was "I couldn't make it, I won't be a teacher any longer". I cried several days until I found a full-time job in Puerto Velero, where I used to spend my whole day working from 8am til 11pm from thursday to tuesday (so basically, I didn't even see my parents for the time I worked there, In fact, I didn't want them to see me).

One day, I got the chance of talking to my dad on my "free day" (which was optional) and we both shared our impressions and tried to find a solution. By then, our economical status was not pretty good and chances were very low. I only told him: "you have to believe that I can make it, probably I will need some of your help initially, but I will find the way to pay the university, maybe I would have to work part-time or I don't know..." my dad believed in me and we both went together to the non-traditional universities in the region. It was a hard choice, but I finally enrolled myself in Universidad del Mar (I didn't finish there, but that's part of a whole new chapter.) and it all started from zero.

2009's academic year came up and I was very excited and nervous on starting this new chapter... I remember that the very first day I met all of my classmates and we were all very different, some of us very childish and some others were totally the opposite, which was very nice as we were an atypical group. The most exciting thing was approaching: Meeting my teachers. And it was very exciting! All of them were very nice and with very demanding and distressing personalities. Anyway, from day one, they all were very different and very friendly as you wouldn't imagine it. And here's where I want to point some things out... when you start University, everyone says "beware of the teachers! they are mean! they will make you suffer! and blah blah blah..." but I told myself "if that's what others have gone through, I feel sorry for them, what type of teachers did they have?" well, years have passed by and I only have one answer: "They weren't as lucky as I was".

My teachers were like rays of hope. They did not single me out. There were things unique about them. They had a magical way of making everyone feel special. Whenever I walked past them in the corridors, there was always something to talk about or to laugh about, they used to smile at me and say something kind even unexpectedly. All of a sudden, going to the university became my favourite thing to do every single day. Even though some people thought the opposite, I strived hard to develop my English skills to make my parents feel proud and to show my mentors a gesture of gratitude towards them for making me feel loved, appreciated and special.

I have to say, they never failed to show appreciation to students when it was due. The changes in my classmates and I were miraculous; I remember that many times some of them told me how outstanding my progress was and how much they enjoyed listening to my oral presentations. Once I wrote a composition in one of my classes and one of them complimented me for writing it without any mistake. She also told me that it was the first time anyone had tried writing something in English so easily and smooth and that was everything to me!.

Basking in their appreciation, I didn’t stop myself and I continued learning and enjoying what I was learning from others: their stories, their ways of teaching, the commitment with us and above all their continuing support. All of a sudden, I felt that I became one of the most talented promises within my career and it was because of their pieces of advice and their ongoing “you can do it” phrase.

Because of them, I stopped studying anything by mind and I started doing it by heart. I started to read and understand concepts and tried to reproduce them in everything I had to face in classes and during my intervention practices. I actually keep some of the documents they signed with simply but meaningful messages such as “great” or “awesome”. They meant the world to me and they pushed me to new boundaries, leaving aside the bad days before starting my undergraduate program.

From there on, my education was easy sailing. I was always at the top of my class and I felt I was unstoppable. They managed to bring out that part but always reminding me: “you never stop learning”.

To this day, I teach with the same dedication my teachers displayed. Many of my students remind me of how I was when I met my favourite teachers for the first time. I try giving them what they gave me - happiness, confidence and life lasting tools. I owe them all the good things that have happened to me. They are in some part responsible for who I am today. I thank the Almighty to have given me the chance that all young people wish to have, especially when I most needed a miracle in my life.

Now I pay tribute to every single one of you, thanks for building me up and cheering me up every single day, your faces were and still are treasures I will hardly forget. I go back in time somedays, and I wish I could have the chance of taking the best from you again but I have heard that people come and go, but feelings remain.

You all showed me the brighest side of you and because of that, you made my new path even lighter and shinier than expected. When I was your student, I felt that I was finally out of the blue and that it was worth fighting for what we truly want... and that's what I do now... I try to show my students the way so I could one day fill-in the shoes of those who showed me mine.

Thanks for making me who I am, thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you ever get to think about me, make sure to look at the stars. I always look at them every night, as the possibilities are now endless.

"To teach is to be an artist creating the finest piece of a sculpture: a wise student. Teach them to dream and motivate them to get the universe".
Maria Emilia Vargas, my former Headmistress at Universidad del Mar.

Abigail Uribe

Katherine Sanhueza

Christopher Maligec 
Luis Beytía



Pia García

Sandra Raggi

Patricia Figueroa

Iris Melys

María Emilia Vargas

Deisy Campos

Loreto Tapía