Without a doubt, the signature wall accessory of just about every high school classroom is a cheesy, inspirational poster. They coat classroom walls in their annoyingly cheery quotes and upbeat optimism. But math teacher Heather Bosman doesn’t have these posters on her classroom walls.

 

Her walls are bare.

 

Those posters don’t inspire her, so why would they be in her classroom? What inspires her are her past experiences. Posters won’t tell you where she comes from. They won’t tell you her struggles and accomplishments. They’re not a window into who she is as a person.

 

“Bozzy”, as her students call her, sits in her classroom, looking comfortable and relaxed. Lanterns hang in the front of the room from the ceiling tiles that her students have painted. It’s warm and inviting for a classroom, despite the absence of corny posters.

 

“Man, I wish people could not be so negative about everything,” she says as her eyes glass over just slightly, suggesting she’s deep in thought.

 

Anyone who knows her knows that she’s an optimist at heart. She can maintain a positive attitude toward her students and her job without the need to be reminded to do so by a poster every time she’s in her room.

 

But a closer look will find that Bosman hasn’t always had a picture-perfect life worthy of hanging up for all to see.

 

The Bosman of today is not the Bosman of the past.

 

The Bosman of today is happy, cheery, outgoing, and energetic. But she wasn’t always like this. She had hardships in her childhood that she had to overcome. She was an outcast in middle school. Her mother was an alcoholic. She didn’t have much support at home.

 

And even through all of her struggles, through all of her efforts to stay afloat in a sea of troubles, she was just as positive then as she is today.

 

After having been tormented by bullies for years in middle school? She was determined to redefine herself when she started at her new high school.

 

After she found out that she was the only one out of all of her siblings to be able to go to private school? She knew she wanted to succeed and would not take the schooling for granted.

 

When she found out through a grapevine that her boyfriend had had sex with another girl while he and Bosman were on a break? She realized that she was worth more than that and broke it off with him.

 

When her mother would brag about her accomplishments to others but would then turn around and tell her, ‘Oh, you’re not so smart,’? She turned to her friends and their families for support.

 

And when she failed an exam and was told she could never become a math teacher by her college calculus professor?

 

She let out the fiery determination within her, and proved him wrong.

 

She overcame every obstacle she encountered with positivity, which is the biggest lesson she can ever provide her students with.

 

Staying positive is truly her biggest strength.

 

It’s hard to imagine what Bosman would be like today if she hadn’t stayed hopeful, if she hadn’t had any drive left, if she didn’t have any inspiration to push on.

 

Because her strong spirit comes from overcoming obstacles.

 

Because her inspiration comes from who she is, and that’s not something you can hang up on the wall.

 

Because without optimism, there would be no Bosman.

 

And while her classroom walls are bare, her story surely isn’t.