Author Abby Jimenez Emotionally Thanks Her High School Creative Writing Teacher, Showing How Teachers Shape Lives
“You made me love writing. You were so encouraging. It was the only class I liked in high school, and I kept everything I ever wrote in your class.”
Published Oct. 21 2024, 1:31 p.m. ET
Books can open doors to worlds beyond our imagination. They transport us to other places, other times, and help us walk in the shoes of other people. They are perhaps the most transformational invention humanity has conceived of. And yet each book was itself conceived by an author whose imagination stretched and grew to shape worlds. Whether someone writes fiction or non-fiction, they've taken a dive into someone or someplace else to tell a story that exists outside of their moments.
And each author has walked their own journey. One author, bestseller Abby Jimenez, recently took fans on a journey through what made her the writer she is today. In an emotional video shared on social media, Abby thanks her high school creative writing teacher, without whom none of her dreams would have been realized. The story is a heartwarming one of how an artist is born, and how teachers shape the lives they touch.
Author Abby Jimenez gets emotional as she thanks her high school creative writing teacher.
Nadia Cakes founder Abby is perhaps best known for her books The Friend Zone, Just for the Summer, Life's Too Short, and many more. But once upon a time, she was a high school student who hated school and only found relief in the classroom of one teacher: Mr. Tim House. In an emotional video of a phone call with Tim, Abby explained that she wouldn't be the author she is today without his motivation.
On the call, Abby started tearing up as she recounted to her former teacher when she took his class and offered that he might not remember her. She tearfully explained, "You probably don’t know me. You had so many students, but my name back then was Abigail Hales. Back when I took your class, this was 1994 to probably 1997 ... I took your creative writing class.”
“You made me love writing. You were so encouraging. It was the only class I liked in high school, and I kept everything I ever wrote in your class,” she said. Abby went on to explain that she couldn't afford college, so she went into the food service industry.
After ups and downs, she eventually opened her bakery Nadia Cakes, retreating into romance novels at the end of a hard day. Yet those novels weren't exactly what she was looking for. So Abby dug deep into the lessons she learned in Tim's classroom and wrote her own.
Almost everyone has that one teacher who believed in them, proving the unseen importance of quality education.
Abby told her former teacher, “I just wanted to tell you how much you meant to me because I don’t think I’d be a writer today if it weren’t for you.” An emotional Tim responded, “You’ve accomplished far more than I ever will, but that brings me immense joy. I’m so glad you reached out.”
It was a sweet moment that brought life full circle for Abby. It reminded the world that although teachers and education have been under attack in America in recent years, they play an absolutely vital and often unappreciated role in shaping the lives of humans who grow up to be movers and shakers.
Ask almost anyone, and they have at least one teacher whose kindness or quirks they remember many years later. And some can even point to that one teacher who motivated them to take the career or life path that they're still on to this day.
Abby's gratitude for her teacher and the moment she shared with the world is a solid reminder that teachers play an even greater role than many think. Yes, they educate. But they also inspire, and just like the book worlds authors create on pages, teachers create worlds of possibilities in their students.
