Revelations

This is one of those moments where I'm so glad I stuck by a student. I didn't do anything, but this student made a complete turn around. For such a long time, he was in huge trouble. He was an angry white boy who had too many problems at home, didn't get along with his parents, was involved in drugs and alcohol at a young age, but had a brain of gold. I used to call him Holden Caulfield to tease him. He hated that.

This student was forced to leave school for a little bit during his junior year. During his time away he got involved in some extremely unhealthy behavior and almost died because of everything that he went through. He told me that he was in the hospital, practically unconscious. He doesn't really remember anything that happened in that time. Once he started regaining consciousness he realized that he had to stop living such an unhealthy lifestyle.

A year later I saw him back in my class, ready to go. The man had made a complete turn around. While he still had his dark sense of humor and loved to tease people, he was changed. He saw the value of listening and put more effort into a worksheet than three years of high school combined. I had never seen him like this. He had come out as a bisexual and was at peace with himself. There was less of the anger that I had seen in him in previous years. I knew it was still there, but I also knew that he had a healthier way f dealing with all of his feelings.

Aside from having a near death experience and coming out, he had also met some good support systems at the group home he moved to. He was doing everything possible to stay at the group home because he knew he needed that healthy environment to keep going. I'm proud of all of the movements he has made. All the revelations that have come upon him. I'm thankful that I was there to see some of those changes.