A Platonic Love Letter To My Favorite Professor

Mar 26, 2026

I met you in the second half of my junior year when everything was falling apart for me. I was under extreme stress, and one of my roommates— the one I shared a room with in our university-provided apartment—had gone to study abroad in England for the semester. My physical health was declining, my family was two hours away by car, and I didn’t have any friends outside of my original trio of roommates. I felt oddly alone, despite living with three other people.

I managed to land back-to-back classes in Religious Studies with you. They both met the requirements I needed to graduate, so why not? The one review on Rate My Professor really made me curious about you: a zero out of five, followed by, “He talks like Mary Poppins.” Clearly, I wanted to understand what that meant. Were you English or just strangely whimsical?

As it turns out, the answer was both.

You ended up being the funniest professor I’ve ever had in my entire college career, to the point where I still keep a list of the crazy things you would say. Not a day goes by that I don’t randomly remember something from it; “I entered SpongeBob’s realm…” will probably stay in the top spot forever. It meant so much to have someone so wildly unhinged and hilarious during a time when I was losing my mind.

You were actually the only professor whose class I attended almost perfectly because I wanted to go every day to hear what incredible nonsense you would spout. In fact, your classes were the only thing I would talk about at one point. You basically became a celebrity in my apartment. Moreover, everyone I knew, whether student or not, wanted to meet you. After all, who wouldn’t want to meet the crazy Religious Studies professor I couldn’t stop talking about?

You were the only good thing during those initial sixteen weeks, and you continued to be one of my main motivators as I finished my senior year. I wouldn’t have been able to succeed without you, whether you realize it or not.

That was why I invited you to my graduation.

You were one of the few people who helped me reach my finish line, so I wanted you here—even if only for a few minutes. I’m still forever grateful that you took time out of your day to support me. I will always consider you one of the best people I’ve ever met and one of my dearest friends. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: I wouldn’t have made it through those tough times without you.

Thank you for being my boss during my senior year. I absolutely adored being your Research Assistant. Thank you for teaching me how to present in front of a group—you were the reason I became one of the best presenters at my capstone. Thank you for inviting me back to your classroom to just talk with your students for a day—I loved being able to help and entertain.