Teachers You Don't Forget

I think by and large, people remember good teachers – I certainly remember teachers from primary school and high school, although I also recall some of the not-so-good ones I’ve had, the good ones I remember very clearly, how they shaped and influenced me into the person I am today, I remember things they said, their accents and I remember how I missed them and was a sad when I moved on.

I’ve been doing Body Attack aerobics at my gym now for 4 years now, twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Tuesday’s class is tough, taught by Paula, an ex-GB swimmer, who really motivates you and makes you work hard whilst having fun at the same time. Loud but with a ready smile, Paula's classes were ones that you tried hard not to miss. Since I've been to her classes, she has always picked up the club’s annual prize for consistently attracting the biggest classes, averaging around 40 people in the studio and it’s obviously because of her teaching.

So you can imagine how devastated I was to find out that she will no longer be teaching the classes as she has gotten a different job. The people at the class last night I think were in shock when we heard the news – everyone was asking “What are we going to do now that she’s gone?” The class I attended the week before was her last one; apparently, she didn’t say anything to anyone because she was afraid it would get too emotional saying goodbye to us. We had a stand-in instructor last night who was ok but not a patch on Paula.

Considering that none of us were on first name terms and we only saw her for an hour each week, I shed a little tear as I drove home. I’ll really miss her but wish her all the best in her new job. Paula helped me get back my fitness and inspired me to work my body hard and believe me, as you get older, it gets a lot harder to make the effort, so thanks Paula.