Writing 101- Day Six: “A Character-Building Experience”

Day Six – A Character-Building Experience:  

* Today’s Prompt:  Who’s the most interesting person (or people) you’ve met this year?

* Today’s Twist:  Turn your post into a character study.

I could hardly believe my good fortune. I had finally found someone to fill me with the knowledge that I had so longed for in the study of classical music, and the “Professor” was my teacher.

I recall that when I first laid eyes on him I was thinking that in all probability I was in for a long semester of boring lectures and pointless videos, partly because his thinning white hair and wrinkled brow. I couldn’t imagine that he’d hold a captive audience; he was just so old! He was small of stature and hobbled slowly about the lecture hall using a cane for support. But as he came closer to where I was sitting, I noticed his eyes. They had a sparkle, a liveliness, a look of zest for life within them, and I realized that perhaps I had been too quick in my assessment. It was not long before the Professor proved how wrong I had been.

He spoke with an eloquence that I have never experienced before. And when he spoke, you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone’s attention was on him and no one wanted to miss a single word as he lectured. Pens were writing furiously, with every student wanting to put down on paper every sentence that he spoke. His knowledge of the subject was vast and the class could tell that he was eager to empty himself of that knowledge into us. It was as though we were empty vessels, ready to be filled with the knowledge that he poured into us.

And if a question was raised by a student, he never failed to answer it completely. He was always kind and never dismissive. He was interested in helping us to succeed in the course and would do everything in his power to achieve that goal. And there were the times when he made us laugh by dressing up as a monk when teaching us about Gregorian chant, or acting out a scene from an opera and engaging in a sword fight. All these examples served to make us love and respect him all the more.

I was never so sad to see a semester end because it meant that my classical music class was finished. I had learned so much from the Professor, probably more than any other teacher I’d ever had. And somehow I knew that I would never have another teacher like him ever again. Thank you, dear Professor. I’ll never forget you.