Got a Call Today

I'm still in a little bit of shock -don't know when it's going to hit me.

True Story:

I saw that Danny* called me while I was driving down to the city yesterday. Then, while I was in the middle of lunch, I get a text saying, "Ms ilu i'm goin bak to jail take care of urself."

I didn't know yesterday was his court date. He failed his drug test a month after smoking some herb and was going back in. I was planning on seeing him this week when I was back in Boston.

I called him as soon as I got the text. He was angry, sad, but trying to keep a decent face up for me. Here was our conversation.

"I'm going back in, Ms. I failed the drug test."

"A month later?!"

"Yeah, it just sticks to your fat cells. Didn't go away."

"You okay?"

"I'm all right, I guess. Just my stupid father...The minute they said I was going back in, he had guilty written all over his face."

"Where's your Dad? Is he right there with you?"

"Nah, I'm outside trying to smoke every last one of my cigarettes before I go back in. I don't want to be near him. Told him I don't want to see his face. This is his fault. I f*ckin hate him."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. This isn't completely his fault. We talked about this. You shouldn't have been smoking in the first place."

"I know, Ms. I know. But he didn't have to bring it to this level. He could have gotten me tested by some private group, but no, I had to go to court! Ugh!"

(Sigh.) "Are they gonna take you right away?"

"Yeah, they said if they let me go home, I might try to get away."

"You know where you're going?"

"Nah, not yet. Maybe Cambridge, maybe Billerica."

"Can you let me know when you find out? or are they going to just take you away and you won't get to your phone?"

"They're probably just going to take me away, but you can call my father. Here's his number..."

"Oh, Danny. I'll find out where you're at, okay? I'm gonna find out."

"All right, Ms. I gotta go. I love you."

"I love you too."

And that was it.

Real Life.

Still processing.

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.