We know that not every hero wears a cape. But what if a hero doesn’t know he is one? Stay with me⁠—the story sounds like the script from a Tarantino movie. The guy is in the navy. Out of the blue, he finds out that he transformed the life of his former student.

“My initial reaction was stunned. I know that most people that have read it in the past have said the story is fake and that it is too circumstantial to have ever happened,” the hero of the story, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Bored Panda. Tune in for the whole interview about this inspirational story below.

Image credits: m00by (not the actual photo)

The former teacher shared this inspirational story

Image credits: CactusFantastic0

Bored Panda contacted the man for an exclusive interview. “Teaching was a ton of fun and a ton of work. I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent teaching. Interacting with students on a personal level was one of the great joys of the work. I always strived to be real with my students and be someone they felt they could trust to tell them the truth. I frequently spoke with my students about real-world issues with real viewpoints on college, drug/alcohol/smoking, future careers, and all the potential challenges that lay ahead of them.”

The hero, who wanted to remain anonymous, explained what got him outside of the classroom. “There’s a hefty amount of politics and kowtowing to maintain a position and the runaround can be exhausting. Ultimately, I decided to choose a career that was more stable in the long run.” He still looks back at teaching with fondness: “especially in light of this story, and I am glad to have had positive impacts with my students. I definitely miss it sometimes, but I’m excited to see where a career in the Navy takes me.”

“My initial reaction was stunned. Why would I tell that story about the one girl? I honestly don’t know. I retell that story often because honestly, it had a big impact on me. It showed me the value of positive self-talk and how small acts of kindness can yield extraordinary results. It reaffirms my belief that there’s never a reason to be mean to each other. There’s more than enough hate in the world; why would I ever want to add to it?”

Students, whatever you do, you cannot turn on yourselves. “Learning to love yourself is hard, but everyone at your age is going through the same thing. Middle/High school are supremely crappy times in the majority of the population’s life. Everyone is struggling to discover who they are and what kind of human they want to be when they grow up. Then they decided to shove 30+ of ‘em in a room for hours at a time and just let them hash it out. It makes for a grand struggle as students yearn to be heard and acknowledged. Just know that it gets sooo much better.”

It’s all about being nice to one another. “The adult world doesn’t care what you do in your free time or what kind of music you listen to. It doesn’t care that your hobbies are considered strange, especially since there are plenty of people who probably love to do what you do. The world cares about kindness. Be warm to those around you and it will always be paid back in the long run. My end of the year speech was always about legacy. How will you be remembered when you are gone? What will they say about you when you’re not around? How will you choose to impact the world every day? Be excellent to one another! (Although I think that reference was lost on most of my students…)”

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