When the exam ended, some of my sixth graders swarmed around me, their voices rising above the din outside the hall, much like birds vying for attention. They poured out how they had used some of the good phrases I had persistently drummed into their heads.

Amidst the volatility and turbulence of our classroom interactions, I was still the one whom they sought out for reassurance. Does that mean that my existence held significance in one way or another?

Maybe it’s a question that can only be thoroughly answered several years down the road. But my heart did feel stirred by how they would come to associate me with certain phrases. I have left an indelible mark on them.