Sea Life Poetry Project

June 24, 2026 | Wednesday Evening | 9:44 PM

The Teacher That Had the Most Influence on My Life

The teacher that had the most Influence on my life is Mrs. Rottle. She was my 3rd & 4th grade teacher. She was the one teacher who helped me with my poetry writing. 

I knew that I loved to write stories & poetry as a little girl, but Mrs. Rottle really helped me understand my gift of creative writing. She taught me more about what poetry was & encouraged me to write poetry as much as possible. The more she taught me about poetry, the more I fell in love with it. And, with creative writing. 📚 📖 📙 📘 🖊 ✍️🏽 ✍️🏽 

My 3rd & 4th grade teacher Mrs. Rottle also let me know that it was special to be Native American. She told me that my tribe has a special place in the city of Auburn. And, that to be Muckleshoot was a blessing. She didn't use those words exactly, but you understand what she meant. 

The other kids around me teased me a lot for being an ugly & dirty Indian girl. They were relentless about it, too. Especially at recess, in the school lines that we lined up in before class started & when recess was over. I can't tell you how many times the kids made fake war chants and did the hand to mouth noise. It was annoying. But, over time I began to ignore them & brush it off. 

Even though the kids around me were mean at times, Mrs. Rottle would discipline them when they took it too far. She would remind me that I came from a strong lineage because my Aunty Virginia was highly respected as an Indian educator in our school district. I always felt better when she took time to speak to me one on one. 

She was a really great teacher. I was lucky to have her as my teacher twice. She was the very first person to believe in me. She was the first person to point out to me that I had a special gift for writing. And, especially for poetry. She was the first person to give me the space & a platform to read my poetry. 😁🤩🙌

I was in third grade. We had a Sea Life Project & I wrote poetry about sea life & sea life animals. For my final, I had my very first poetry reading in front of a classroom full of a lot of people. I stood in front of my classroom & read poetry to my classmates, some 5th & 6th graders, my Mom & Aunty Virginia. It was a big deal for me. Especially, because some of the students from 5th & 6th grade were invited to my very first ever poetry reading. After I read all of my poetry, the entire room clapped & cheered for me. This one 6th grader was smiling & cheering for me & I felt special in that moment. 

In elementary school, when students from older classrooms noticed you, it's a big deal. I can still see her in my mind today. She had dirty blonde hair, dark blue eyes, a light blue jean jacket with a white t-shirt & a silver necklace of some kind. She wasn't extremely overweight, more, just a smidgen overweight. She could lose the extra weight easily if she exercised for a short period of time. 

What's more important, though, is that she was in the classroom with all of us 3rd & 4th graders & she was cheering for all of us. It was similar to a talent show, but, we all had separate presentations about our Sea Life Projects. Some students sang songs or played instruments while other students presented paintings on canvases, or, drew pictures of the sea life animal they focused on. I remember all of the paintings & drawings being hung up in the courtyard that was the open space between classrooms. Each classroom had a large wall between their classroom & the next. It was a special day for me for many reasons. 

XoXo 🌹 

Love, 

Me