Author calls high-school teacher out of the blue after 27 years to thank him for inspiring her

Behind a person's success lies countless hours of hard work and dedication. However, another crucial factor is the people who guide and support them on their journey to success. It can be a meaningful experience to thank those individuals and let them know the impact they’ve had. In a heartwarming gesture, author Abby Jimenez—known as @authorabbyjimenez on TikTok—called her high school creative writing teacher after 27 years to express her gratitude for the role he played in her life. The author of "Just for the Summer" shared their touching conversation on the platform.

"Calling my high school creative writing teacher 27 years later to thank him," the text overlay of the video read. Jimenez called her teacher on camera and said, 'Thanks for calling me back. Is this a good time?' The teacher replied that any time works for him now since he's retired. The author explained that she was part of his high school class from 1994 to 1997. "I took your creative writing class in the last year of high school. You probably don't remember me. My name back then was Abigail Hills," she began. She reminded him of the car she drove, and Mr. House seemed to recall her from that detail. "I loved your class and I wanted to tell you where I am now and where I went after high school and where I ended up," Jimenez revealed.

Jimenez admitted that she was nervous, and the situation became even more emotional as she broke down. "It feels like a full circle to me, talking to you. So, after I graduated, I couldn't afford to go to college, so I went into food service and I was a waitress and then I went into media management and I did really well," she shared with her teacher. "When I was 27, in 2007, I lost my job." The author shared that she was pregnant with her third child at that time and had started a cake business from her home called Nadia Cakes. "I was there a few days ago and got a couple of cupcakes," Mr. House revealed. Jimenez then continued to tell him about her bakery and how she launched it after taking a few cake-decorating classes.

"I went to Cupcake Wars and then moved to Minnesota," the woman disclosed. She established three bakeries in two states before deciding to take a step back and revisit one of her favorite hobbies: reading. While her favorite genre was romance, she struggled to find the kind of stories that appealed to her. "I wanted a romcom that had a depth to it, so I decided to write my own book," she explained. She eventually ended up writing her book and getting a literary agent. "My first book came out in 2019 and it was called 'The Friend Zone,'" Jimenez informed her former teacher, adding how her sixt book "Just for the Summer" had come out and debuted at number 1 in The New York Times and spent five months on the New York Times bestseller list. "The only schooling I ever had for writing was your class. You made me love writing," she told him.

"You were so encouraging, that was the only class I liked," Jimenez emphasized. She highlighted how high school was a difficult experience for her and how Mr. House was the only person who made it bearable. "I wanted to tell you how much it meant. I wouldn't be a writer if it weren't for you," she admitted. Mr House answered, "You are going to make me cry too." He felt that being a teacher was a worthwhile profession because he was able to inspire people to do "bigger and better things." He added, "I am so glad you called."

People expressed their thoughts on the interaction in the comments. @kaitlynbrowning75 wrote, "Tim House is my dad! My husband is also an English teacher and we just cried watching this video. It was so moving!" @mikky_kayla commented, "Tim House from Quartz Hill? He was my teacher, too. I recognize his voice. We called him Dr. Mr. House." @mendlipbalm remarked, "Teachers really do change the world."

You can follow Abby Jimenez (@authorabbyjimenez) on TikTok for more updates on her books.