Did you say thank you to the people who made you you?

I just messaged someone on Facebook to say thank you for the impact he had on my life. Have you done that?

This person was my 5th and 8th grade teacher. He may not even know my married name. My brother was posting about fruit flies and I had commented with a tip. My former teacher, Mr. John Kupsky, also commented with another tip.

I suddenly realized this was an opportunity to say thank you.

This teacher, Mr. Kupsky, encouraged my love of writing. If you are reading this, you are seeing the results of that encouragement. I’ve written for my whole life.

In every job I held, I wrote:

• I wrote while in the savings and loan industry
• as a property manager
• while I was the Kiwanis Administrative Coordinator
• as Wausau Whitewater’s Operations Manager
• I wrote resumes since 1983 as a sideline business and since 2010 as a full time career with national and global clientele.

Why I needed to say thank you

This teacher from a Christian school (Trinity) suggested to my parents that I would benefit from a summer school class at one of the public schools on creative writing the summer after 5th grade. In that class I met others who loved to write. In addition, I learned creative writing strategies, which led to more writing classes.

I hope my message gets through. I asked my brother who is connected to my former teacher to make sure he sees it. Thank you, Mr. Kupsky!

The writing I do now is creative but in a whole different direction then I could ever have predicted in 5th grade. My blog posts are one part of my writing and of course, the rest is the resumes, LinkedIn profiles, cover letters, and a myriad of other career marketing tools.

My audience is global. I could not predict that in 5th grade. Though my life hasn’t been easy, it never deterred me from following my desire to write. Always follow your dream, even when it is hard.

Who made you you?

Did someone inspire you to take a certain path? I know I have many people remaining in my life who need me to say thank you for their impact on my life. This teacher was the first to acknowledge my writing and encourage it. Take time before it is too late to say thank you.

I am a writer who helps other people reach their career goals. Learn more here.