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23 January 2017

An inspiring letter from 'A Small girl with Big dreams'

"I just wanted to thank you for posting all these notes. I took my AS level in 2015 and got an A in biology thanks to you. If only the physics notes had existed back then... I never had the chance to thank you but today while I was organizing my computer files I stumbled upon your blog and saw that it has grown so much! So congratulations on that too!"





"I am now applying to colleges and hopefully I will be able to be accepted to one of my dream schools (MIT, Stanford or Caltech). If I get in, it will be largely thanks to you. You taught me that if I really put the effort into it, I can achieve great things by myself –well, and also with the help of your notes of course :)

Anyways, thank you very much for everything. You are an incredible teacher who has opened my eyes to the scientific world. I want to study physics or engineering and hopefully some day be also an inspiring teacher just like you.

Sorry for the long post and once again: a big thanks from the bottom of my heart".


- Just a small girl with big dreams, A.M.

18 January 2017

From The Blog Editors:

Thank you A.M. for your inspiring letter. It really makes our day knowing the blog could somehow be of help to you. Truly and honestly, the blog for us was a way to give back to the society online that we have not met before, the society that has generously given us knowledge free of charge, day in day out - these anonymous teachers.

And what you say rings true: If you put great effort, passion into a goal, small or large, you will get there one day. Perhaps your goal is self-fulfilment, perhaps your goal is to eventually help others - both dear ones and strangers, perhaps it's an amalgam of both. And of course, massive props to you for knowing what your immediate goals are! One thing that we've learnt is to not be discourage when you trip along the way - it's like misplacing your foot on one of the holds on a rock-climbing wall, but you can always pull yourself back up and stabilize that foot hold again.

We know that applying to college and university is a tough time. One of us has just entered college herself! If there is any way we could be of help to you with your applications or to just be an ear to hear you out, please don't hesitate to let us know.


We wish you the best of luck and hope to hear from you soon!

E.L.




2 comments:

  1. Dear E.L. and blog editors,

    It's me again, A.M. I never thought that you would reply to my message, I must admit that it even brought tears to my eyes. I write to you again to tell you that on Pi Day I received amazing news... I was accepted to MIT!!!! Who would have thought that this could be possible?!

    "And what you say rings true: If you put great effort, passion into a goal, small or large, you will get there one day."

    Couldn't have said it better. I now realize that those hours studying and learning were worth it, even the time I spent teaching. I didn't tell you before but I love giving classes to small kids. It's surprising how much you can learn just by spending two hours a day with them. They are so perseverant and truly believe that they are capable of everything.

    They have also taught me how to teach, how to explain difficult topics in a simple yet funny way. It is greatly thanks to them that I won a wonderful scholarship in a contest called the "Breakthrough Junior Challenge": (https://breakthroughjuniorchallenge.org/ ). This contest changed my life... a few months ago I was worried since I didn't know if I could afford to go to college and now look where I am! I mention this because maybe some student will stumble upon this comment and I want to encourage him (you dear reader!) to participate. You can't lose anything since even if you don't win, you will still be teaching something pretty interesting to someone eager to learn.

    I wish you all my best and thank you again for helping me achieve my dream. I believe that my journey to become a scientist has just started and, even though it will probably be a difficult one, it will make me a better person and allow me to make this world a better place to live.

    And to you readers: dream big and never let anyone tell you that you are not good enough. YOU are special. For all I know, you could be the next Nobel Prize winner!

    Thank you again E.L. for everything,

    A big hug from "just a small girl with big dreams" (Antonella)

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