School isn’t always exciting, it isn’t always easy, and it definitely isn’t always fun.  During my sophomore year there were many days where I did not want to be there.  My classes were difficult and it was hard to focus when all I wanted was to go home, but I always got some relief when I stepped into the library.
With my first step into the library, I could hear the laughs of students and see the smiles on their faces.  Ms. Martin just has a way about her.  Maybe it’s her common sense attitude, her (not always school appropriate) jokes, the way she doesn’t take crap from students, or a combination of all three.  Ms. Martin is as funny as a comedian.  She has less of a filter than the exhaust on a semi.  But somehow she still manages to teach students more than any other teacher can from a book.
If students needed help with any subject, she would help (even if she had no idea what to do).  If students needed to find a book, she would find it, and if students needed advice, she would give it.  Ms. Martin is as dedicated as any teacher at Arrowhead; and she doesn’t stop teaching when the book is closed.  
Being a former corporate lawyer, a mother of two, and now a librarian, Ms. Martin knows how the world works and isn’t afraid to give her students advice.  Hearing stories of her corporate lawyer days working with names such as Michael Jordan and Yoko Ono always amazed me and gave me a different perspective on the world. And with her sense of humor, I was always learning and laughing at the same time.  Hearing about her two girls in grade school and their friend’s crazy parents taught me about being a parent and how to work with people in life that you don’t enjoy.  But most of all, Ms. Martin taught me how to not worry, how to take a deep breath and realize that one math test isn’t going to change my life, and that some things just are not worth worrying about. 
  There are lots of teachers who are great at teaching their subject and helping their students succeed in their class, but Ms. Martin helps student succeed at life. And she does this by not teaching out of a book but by teaching from her life. Ms. Martin taught me how to handle what life throws at me, she taught me how to make decisions, and she taught me how to be laugh and be happy.  This is why I am nominating Ms. Susan Martin for teacher of the year. School may not be everyone’s favorite, but with people like Ms. Martin, everyone can make it through.