When I look back on grade school, I remember the good times that I had. My friends, family and teachers all bring back memories. However, some people just seems to pop out, and for whatever reason they are engraved into my picture of what school was like. One person that stands out is a guy who I am pround to have had as a teacher and a friend. His name is Joe Sears.

At my school there was a program called late PM for people whose parents couldn’t pick them up until later. Staying for this was never a problem for me, because I always loved to go. Joe was one of the adults in charge, and I can never remember thinking of him as anything but a friend. He was always there playing games, and, unlike some of the adults I knew, he was never not having fun.

Joe seemed to have such a positive outlook on life, and it rubbed off on the people around him. I can remember playing countless games of scrabble together, and even though it probably wasn’t his choice of what to do, he never stopped grinning. He would always amaze us when he came up with plays that nobody could top, like putting the x and the q in the same word, which would end up on the triple word score. My friends and I were in awe of him every moment of the day, even if it wasn’t when we were playing scrabble.

Another thing that he seemed to have a remarkable amount of talent in was foosball. Whenever we played, he was the one to beat, and although my foosball skills might not exactly be fore life, what he taught me is. He was the best example of how to be competitive and still have fun. I always modeled my actions off of him, and I know that a lot of other people did too.

So here’s to an adult who was also my friend. Through foosball and scrabble you taught me a lot. When people look at me now, your lessons and actions are still there, hidden beneath all I have become. Thank you Joe, for helping to make me what I am today.