HOW IT ALL STARTED

Mrs.VandeWalle was my teacher when I was in 6th grade. I was very lucky because I had her for A/A (Homeroom), Guided Study, and Language Arts. Oh, and I’m past that whole suck up thing, so have faith that all I say is true. Over the past four years I have discovered that she’s actually a normal person, unlike what you think of teachers to be...but *shhh* because that is a huge secret! She has standards to live up to you know! Not only is she a great teacher, she is an awesome all around person. Although she is no longer a teenager, Mrs.VandeWalle seems to have quite a good grasp on the inner workings of the teenage mind. This is quite helpful when I’m having one of those routine breakdowns that happen during the teen years. She will never judge what I say, or treat me differently because of something that happens. Trust me with this one, I have told her some pretty crazy things, and she hasn’t held it against me yet.

When I was in 7th grade she moved about 2 hours away (according to Map quest). Talk about devastated. I’ll tell you, that sucked! In 6th grade a whole bunch of people thought I was “obsessed” with Mrs.VandeWalle. That was rough to deal with too, because I started telling myself that it was true. I realize now that I wasn’t, and it wasn’t true. People are just stupid...yup that’s it! She was really sweet about it all too, she told me before I could have heard any rumors about it at school, and told me that I could e-mail her anytime--and not to worry, I definitely took her up on that. Anywho, you won’t believe this. Sometimes she’d come back to school and visit, and every time she came, I was home sick!! So I didn’t get to see her again until early March. I had won tickets a radio station to see Miss Saigon.

MISS SAIGON

You should have seen me when I won those tickets. I was so excited and bouncing off of walls. However, I still had to ask her if she would go. I do not do so hot on the phone with her...I tend to babble and choke on my words. I’m working on it though! I called her and told her that I won these tickets from the radio station because I wrote about “Who is your hero and why” and I wrote about her for various reasons. Thankfully, she said yes. I was so entirely excited! When that day finally came, I still had to go to school. That had to be the longest day EVER! I was incredibly nervous. She told me that was fine, just as long as I didn’t start drooling when I saw her. *Cruel* So she drove the two hours (which I would be willing to bet did not take that long with the way she drives...haha j/k!) and we went out to eat at the Olive Garden, then to the show. To prove my dork-i-ness, I still have my mint wrapper from the Olive Garden :-) I still remember every single thing that happened that day. Every word that was said, and everything. It was a very special day for me. However, that was the only time I saw her between the time she left and when she moved back here. For those of you wondering, the show was amazing. My favorite parts with the effects was the helicopter, however, I was a bit saddened that they took the prop out that was originally used and replaced it with a projector. It was still awesome though. I also loved when they kept switching between the Americans and the Vietnamese with the wall. Within the blink of an eye you were on the other side of the gate. I’ll admit, when the girls started dancing on the poles and every upstanding thing in sight, it got a bit uncomfortable sitting next to her-I was prepared for that though. I could tell you every little detail about that day like when we tried biting mints in half in the dark to make them spark, or how her dessert at the Olive Garden had a little something extra in it, but that’d probably be boring for you. It was an awesome day that I will never forget as long as I’m alive.

MICHAEL FLATLEY'S LORD OF THE DANCE

Did I get lucky or what?  Well, sort of.  My mom and I were planning on going to the Lord Of the Dance on the 12th of February, however, she ended up getting sick.  She asked if I wanted to invite Mrs.VandeWalle to go see it, and I said of course!  So she called her and thankfully she could go.  It was her birthday and all, so I wasn't sure if she'd be busy or not.  The show was amazing.  Of course, when I got home I tried moving my ankle like them to show my mother and almost broke it!  Haha.  The lighting effects were awesome, even the strobe lights.  You could really tell who was the diva of the show right away.  She reminded me of Jessie from Saved By the Bell.  They were all very talented and completely in sync.  It was great!  At the end everyone started standing up and applauding, and then the theater went black and everyone was like "Can we leave?" and then the music started again and they all bowed, and danced their little legs off, and we applauded some more, and it went on like that a few times.  It was a blast hanging out with Mrs.V again...we had some really great conversations. 

SWAMI RETURNS

I think I was always bugging her about moving back here. She ended up moving back last summer on August 2nd. I bugged her and bugged her then felt bad and then bugged her more to let me come see her. I was really happy I got to see her because I was leaving for California a week later and would be gone for a week, and just really wanted to see her and Hannah and Lucas--I suppose Mr.V too, but I don’t really know him. You have no idea how incredibly ecstatic I was!! She hadn’t changed at all--except that she had gotten a “mommy haircut”.

THE VANDEWALLE’S

Mrs.VandeWalle has two children, Hannah and Lucas. Hannah is 8, and completely adorable. Lucas is almost 2. I call him “Lil’ Lucas Bumpkin’ ”, for no reason really. It just kind of came out one day. He is too cute!! I used to baby-sit Hannah when she was younger, and I remember this one time, I had walked her into her school and she goes “Dannah, come here” like she was going to tell me something, and she gave me a kiss and said “I love you!” Aww, it was the cutest thing ever. I love little kids, I just take an extra special liking to Mrs.V’s. Lucas said my name!! He always says “Han-nah-nah-nah” but this was a distinct “DAN-nah-nah-nah”. Boy did I feel loved! Apparently Mrs.V used to dress Hannah up as a Chiquita Banana for Halloween *cruel* haha. At least I never actually had to live up to the nick name “Dannah Banana”. Oh, her husband is completely obsessed with Star Wars. I cannot judge however, because I too have strange obsessions. Not that I’m saying Star Wars is strange in any way...*giggle* No, no, the Star Wars lights added so much to their Christmas tree, really!!

MORE!!

So you’re probably wondering why Mrs.VandeWalle is so special to me, right? Well, when I was in 6th grade I really needed someone to talk to. I could not talk to my friends, because I did not want things to get around school. She offered to let me talk to her, and I took her up on the offer. She seemed to always know what to say to make me feel better. She still does that. Mrs.V is the one person that I tell everything to. (That’s why we’re gonna be friends forever...she knows too much! *snicker*) Like I said, she just seems to understand. She was the first person that told me that she believed I could make my dreams come true. I’m sure that some people probably still think it is weird, but that’s too bad for them. As Mrs.V told me “Who gives a rat’s ass as long as you know what’s true!” Words to live by, I’ll tell you. There’s tons more that could be said, but I’m sure she would not want everyone with access to this site to read it. She’s just an awesome person. She makes me feel really special without doing anything out of her norm. I have three friends in this world that I would be completely lost without: Nicole, Emily, and Mrs.V. They have kept me sane throughout the many ups and downs in my short life, and I owe the world to them because of that. My wish for the world is that everyone can have someone even remotely as special to them as Mrs.VandeWalle is to me. Even though I am no longer in her classroom, she continues to teach me all of the time. Oh yeah, and she’s an Angel...My Angel :-D

"As we gaze into the depths of life, often found are the boundaries set forth by a world of shallow darkness. Boundaries created by doubt, by fear, whispering to the hopeless and unknowing, that there is nothing beyond what is here and that forever is but an illusion. Few are those who see into the alluring depths, beyond the boundaries of man and into themselves to find the overflowing waters of truth."