The Power of 300 Words

Yesterday, I was working on some homework for my Microeconomics class later today. It was nothing I hadn't seen hundreds of times before-- I had, after all, done many, many hours of practice with the material my sophomore year at Walton. Now, the PPC, opportunity cost, and competitive advantage are really easy. But back then, in the moment sophomore year, they weren't. I didn't immediately realize it, but I was really struggling. I remember not doing well on the first test; it's normal that the grade on the first assessment of the year is a little lower because everyone has a learning curve to the teacher's testing style. Then, came the second test; about the same grade. Then, the third; even lower. No amount of adjustments to the new material or teacher, or even bad days could explain that. It took a lot of courage on my part, but what I did around mid-February changed everything: I asked for help.

From then until right before the AP exam in May (like, literally maybe 24 hours before), my teacher was always there to answer any questions, work through any practice problems, or bounce off any ideas (that more often than not were very wrong), but she was willing to do those things nonetheless.  That made an impression: I mattered. No matter how many times I failed, she was always willing to help me get back up and get better. It's because of her help that I got a 5 on the AP Exam that spring, that I grew to love Micro, and that I feel really good about this Micro course I'm now taking here at Emory Oxford.

The homework brought back memories of those days in Econ, and of how grateful I was that she had helped me. So as soon as I finished the work I had, I sat down and wrote her an email thanking her for everything she taught me that semester-- and it wasn't just economics. Her impact was way bigger than that, and she deserved to hear that from me, to know that everything she did made a difference, that her dedication was noticed. It took me about 15 minutes to write, and writing that email has been the best thing I've done this week.

This morning, after I left my geology class, I checked my email before heading to the dining hall for lunch. She had responded, and what she said really made me thankful that I took the time to write the email. It's pretty clear from the email I got that she is deeply touched by what I wrote, that she's thankful that she had had an impact on my life, and that she's eagerly awaiting my next visit to Walton. Just having the sense that I made her day better by simply writing a quick email made my day immensely better as well.

I guess the point of the story is this: One of the most powerful things you can say to anyone is also one of the simplest. It's "thank you." As simple as it may seem, even to the point that some may see this as cliché, that phone call or letter may have a huge impact-- from brightening their day to changing their life. So if there's someone you've been putting off telling "thank you," whatever the reason, do it, and both your rewards and those for the person you thank will be manifold.