Dear Coach Eric Baumann of East Prairie School,

You influenced my life in so many ways throughout my years at EPS, but how do I say this? You intimidated me when I first met you. I despised the way you pushed me to the limit; I hated the way you made sure I behaved appropriately; I disliked the way you never gave me a break from working my hardest. But now I realize why you acted this way: to make sure I always tried my best. This “give it all you got” attitude you possess substantially influenced my life. Because of your lesson, I now always try my best, in sports and in academics. Your influence considerably transformed me into a better person. Ever since I developed this attitude, I noticed my effort and my grades drastically rise. As the noble Thomas Jefferson once said, “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on Earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”

This attitude you instilled in my life made me truly appreciate your efforts. You wound up as a teacher because you wanted to make sure kids of this generation carry this drive you possess. And now, because of you, all my friends and I use this approach to enhance ourselves. And this determination you possess, this determination to make sure we move forward in life and always try our best makes us appreciate you instead of just respecting you.

After knowing you for so long, I find it hard not to admire your determination. Yes, shocker. I admire you for more than just giving me good grades in P.E. Nearing graduation, I look back on my younger days and recall all the times when I wanted to quit while playing sports. I possessed little to no skill back then, but you still made me try my best. And because you did not let me quit, I now developed some talent in sports. You probably cannot see it, but all us students admire your attitude towards us and our success you helped achieve. So once again, thank you for all your work in helping me turn into a better person. I look forward to seeing you every day for the rest of my final year here at East Prairie.