Bestselling author Abby Jimenez closed the loop on her writing journey with a call to her high school teacher, thanking him for shaping the career she’s built with her words.
In a post on her TikTok page viewed 1.6 million times, Jimenez shared the moment she called her creative writing teacher, Mr. House, to thank him 27 years after she was his student.
“Calling my high school creative writing teacher 27 years later to thank him,” she wrote in the video. In the caption, Jimenez expressed her gratitude: “Mr. House was the most supportive, encouraging teacher I ever had. He made me love storytelling, he made me feel like I was good at it, and it began a love of writing that has carried me to now. Thank you so much, Tim House. You deserve the world and more.”
The video shows Jimenez speaking to her former teacher on speaker phone.
“You probably don’t know me. You had so many students, but my name back then was Abigail Hales,” she explained at the top of the video, her voice wavering with emotion. “Back when I took your class, this was 1994 to probably 1997 … I took your creative writing class.”
“You made me love writing. You were so encouraging. It was the only class I liked in high school, and I kept everything I ever wrote in your class.”
Jimenez went on to explain that because she was unable to afford college, she started her career in the food industry as a waiter. From there, her life became a series of twists and turns. She went into retail management, lost her job, started a successful cake business and had children.
All the while, her love for writing, which was first ignited in that high school classroom, never left. While managing her bakery, Jimenez’s work hours stretched up to 15-hour days, and eventually, she found solace in reading romance novels, though nothing ever quite satisfied her creative itch.
“When I started diving back into reading, I was having a really hard time finding the kind of romance that I wanted to read,” she explained to House. “You know, it was either like very light and fluffy, or it was just very deep and serious.”
So Jimenez began writing the book she wanted to read. Drawing on the lessons she learned from her high school teacher, she poured her time into writing, and her efforts paid off. She launched her debut novel, “The Friend Zone,” and launched a successful career as an author.
Jimenez teared up as she continued to reflect on her journey and her teacher’s hand in it. “I just wanted to tell you how much you meant to me because I don’t think I’d be a writer today if it weren’t for you.”
House expressed how moved he was, “You’ve accomplished far more than I ever will, but that brings me immense joy. I’m so glad you reached out.”
Now the author of six books, Jimenez attends literary events where she often credits her teacher for sparking the passion that fueled her success.
“When I do these events, the only schooling I ever had for what I do was a creative writing class in high school,” she added. “You made such a difference. I never forgot about you.”