College+Essay

I never thought I would spend my senior year without my favorite teacher. I couldn’t fathom him not teaching at my school anymore. He had many names, “Ralphy”, “Harry” or just plain “crazy”, but to me it was, and always will be, Mr. Harrington.

Mr. Harrington was an oddity. He would crack jokes at the most unusual times or move about the classroom in his office chair (it had wheels) paddling the air with an oar from a boat. Or he would play creepy music no one had ever heard before and sing along out of tune. But even though he would make weird faces or funny voices while he talked with you, Mr. Harrington was an excellent listener. He was always there when I needed to talk to him- about art or anything else on my mind. He was like my second half. Mr. Harrington really “got” my artwork and what it was, and still is, about and that has always meant so much to me. No one else would have understood why I do artwork about dark themes and probably would have sent me running to the school social worker; but Mr. Harrington looked past the themes of my work and saw in them what I saw- emotion. I feel that he really understood what I was trying to convey.

This may sound a bit corny, but Mr. Harrington taught me how to be myself. He was //so// ridiculous and I still look up to him in that respect. I’m always trying to make people laugh and this is in part thanks to him. When I was in his class in tenth grade I always had such a fun time and I never wanted to leave. His class taught me how to be fun and creative without being in a strict environment like in some //other// art classes. I learned so much but the one thing that stuck in my mind was his quirky nature. Nothing serious would ever come out of Mr. Harrington’s mouth. That was the sole thing that made me love art- that it could be serious but fun at the same time. A good piece of work could be outrageous but fantastic all at once. I hope my college teachers will have similar views. I was really looking forward to being in two or three of his classes’ senior year, but I’ve somehow found a way to manage. I still look to Mr. Harrington for inspiration even if he’s not teaching at Guilderland anymore.

I plan on attending college to become an art teacher. I never really could decide on what I wanted to do with my life even if I knew it had something to do with art. But now I feel it’s set in stone. I’m going to be an art teacher and it’s all Mr. Harrington’s fault. I want to be able to make a difference and by becoming an art teacher I know I can. Mr. Harrington made a difference in my life and I want to share what he’s taught me with other needy high school kids. Mr. Harrington was my favorite teacher. Mainly because no matter what kind of mood I was in he always seemed to find a way to make me laugh. This is a quality I hope I can develop with time because it’s such a wonderful thing to have. Even when I was down about my artwork (because sometimes I’m a perfectionist in that sense) he made me roll my eyes and smile.

I’ll never forget Mr. Harrington. He really inspired me to become a unique artist and a crazy person and I’ll carry his legacy on someday when I’m teaching kids of my own.