A Person Who Has Inspired Me

When I was given the topic for this week's Tutor Talk — “A person who has inspired me” — I stared at it for a while.

My first thought was:

One person? Seriously? Which one? And why are we doing this to me on a Sunday? ??

The problem wasn't that I couldn't think of anyone who had inspired me.

The problem was that I could think of too many.

I am going to be 60, after all. There have been a lot of people who have crossed my path. Some inspired me as a whole, while others inspired me through one particular action, conversation, decision, or simply by the way they lived their lives.

And I've realised that people don't necessarily set out to inspire us.

They don't wake up thinking, “Today I am going to do something inspirational.”

Sometimes, they simply do something.

They show kindness when they didn't have to. They keep going when life is difficult. They stand up for someone. They believe in someone who has lost confidence. They handle a difficult situation with grace.

And somewhere along the way, someone notices.

Perhaps that is what inspiration really is. Not necessarily a grand gesture, but a small piece of someone's character that stays with you.

When I look back over my life, I realise that I have collected those pieces from many different people.

A little resilience from one person.

A different way of thinking from another.

A lesson about kindness from someone else.

Courage from someone I watched navigate something difficult.

Even difficult people can leave us with something valuable — sometimes a lesson in who we don't want to become.

We are shaped by the people who cross our paths, whether they know it or not.

And that makes me think about my own students.

As a teacher, I want my students to learn vocabulary, grammar and communication skills. But I also hope I can give them something more.

Perhaps a little confidence.

Perhaps the courage to speak even when they aren't sure they are right.

Perhaps simply the feeling that someone believes in them.

I have a quiet wish that one day I might do something — perhaps something very small that I won't even realise is important — that stays with one of my students.

I don't need them to remember my lesson.

I don't even need them to remember my name.

I would simply love to think that somewhere, sometime in the future, they might remember something I said or did and think:

“That helped me.”

Because perhaps that is how inspiration works.

We don't always know when we are inspiring someone. We may never know.

We simply cross paths, leave a little piece of ourselves behind, and continue on our way.

So, if you ask me, “Who is the person who has inspired you?”

I still can't give you one name.

And I'm quite happy about that.

Because over almost sixty years, I have had the privilege of meeting many people who left something behind.

Some left big things.

Some left tiny things.

But all of them, in some way, helped shape the person I am today.

And perhaps one day, without even knowing it, I will leave a little piece of something behind for one of my students too.