MICHAEL JASON WARREN

He just threw us off the deep end, forcing us to use Japanese and I thank him greatly for it.

The only way to really learn something is by doing, not studying. 
However much I've let it deteriorate, I owe a lot of my progress in Japanese to him.

勢いよく教えてくれてありがとうございました！

I must admit I don't remember much about what we studied.
However, I learned a great lesson in what true dedication to one's work is.
And how liberating and powerful it is to be non-critical.

One spring day we crawled through the window of his office onto the roof of Royce Hall at UCLA.
He told me about falling in love with Korean punk rock, how he never planning on being a professor
(though now teaches Korean and Scandinavian folklore at UCLA)
He assured me that it is okay to drift, even for years at a time.

For that day alone, I call him one of my favorite teachers.

But also feeling like I knew a thing or two, I had some big ideas, and she preceded to chop them down to size.

Lots of encouragement, leading to great atmosphere, and fostering teamwork, made it a truly memorable class.
I'll always remember Amber Johnson.