I don't remember her name anymore, but she changed my life.

What was it? Mrs. Fiegleman? Mrs. Filgelman? There's a hazy memory of the sounds, but I can't remember the letters. I'll just call her Mrs. F.

She was my second-grade teacher. And she changed my life by sitting me next to Kevin.

I was a quiet kid. So quiet that my school almost thought I was a mute. The first time I spoke was halfway through kindergarten. My class literally burst in cheers when they heard me.

One of my earliest memories is in my grandparent's laundromat. They ran the business as professionally as they could, despite being recent immigrants. Every time a customer came in, my grandmother would whisk me to the back and tell me to be quiet. Thus became one of my first experiences with strangers: hush up and hide.

In contrast, Kevin was a chatterbox. He was a very friendly kid, always talking to strangers, always making new friends, and always talking to his classmates, even through quiet time. Mrs. F tried endlessly to shut him up. When that didn't work, she decided to pair us together.

Kevin and I fast became friends. I'd go to his house to play cops & robbers and ride our bikes all over the neighborhood. Although my mom would drive me to his house, I later learned that he lived only several blocks away. So I began riding my bike to his house on my own.

Through his influence, I slowly began to open up. Kevin, in the other hand, kept on talking to his classmates (which now included me), even through quiet time.

I have many more memories of Kevin than I do Mrs. F. In fact, it wasn't until I was moving away to college that I learned of her plan.

"Remember Mrs. F?" I asked my mom. We were reminiscing as I was packing my clothes.

"Yes. She was a very good teacher."

"I don't remember much about her, to be honest."

"She made you friends with Kevin. Remember him?"

I blinked. "Kevin? How did she make us friends?"

"She sat you next to him because you were so quiet and he was so talkative. She wanted you to learn to be less quiet."

Huh. I had no idea. It was odd to think of my friendship with Kevin as being set up. From what I remember, he started talking to me one day, and just like that, we became friends. Amazing how kids can become friends so quickly, isn't it?

Throughout the rest of my life, I've had many other catalysts that encouraged me to open up. But Mrs. F gets a special honor, because she was one of the first.

. . .

Which teacher do you remember?