Go back and thank the teacher who didn’t give up on you. They rarely hear how the story ended.

Teachers rarely find out what happened. They put effort into a person for a year, that person leaves, and the ending stays unknown, which over a career means a lot of work with no visible result. A message years later is not a small courtesy. It closes a loop they had no way of closing themselves.

Write to one of them this month, even if it has been a long time and feels awkward. Be specific about what they did and what came of it. Two paragraphs will do, and it will likely be kept.