Nancy Kies - An Inspiration

When I was a teenager, as is the case with many teenagers, it was next to impossible to get through to me.  I put up a lot of walls due to my parents’ separation, a lot of personal issues, and an increasing disdain for life in general.  I was self-destructing - quickly - and I didn’t really care.

Then I met Kies.

I had taken a year-long sabbatical (a.k.a. Dropped out of high school for a year), and upon my return to 11th grade, I met Miss Nancy Kies, the guidance counselor at Charles City High School in Charles City, Iowa.  Her quirky sense of humor and no-nonsense way of talking immediately drew me to her as someone that I felt understood my plight, and genuinely sympathized with what I was going through.  Miss Kies became a trusted confidant, a mentor, and a friend to me.  It was her encouragement, inspiration, and true guidance that got me through my later teen years.  She listened, when I felt that no one else cared.. and she cared, when I thought that no one else would. 

Though it’s been a few years since high school, I’ll never forget the way she went out on a limb to tie a knot at the end of my rope so that I could hang in there. Happy Birthday Kies - You are appreciated, and I am truly grateful to have known you.