Day Seven: Someone Who Has Made Your Life Worth Living For

I'm not sure I like this one.  It implies that I would have ended my life if not for some person.  I don't think about suicide (but I do think about dying, in a "They'll all be sorry when I'm DEAD" way).

So I will change this to "Someone who makes me want to be a better person."

Easy.  I have two students who make me want to be a better person.  Their names are A and B.

I've talked about A before.   He's in a good home now, as far as I know, but he's transferred to another school in the county.  He hates it there, like I knew he would.  This school is nicknamed ACT High, because they focus on test scores almost exclusively.  A wants to do creative work; specifically, he wants to be an actor, and he probably could.  So ACT High is killing his spirit, like I knew it would. 

I hate that his life has been sucked into a pit this year.

I want to be a positive role model for him--and I think I am--but I also need to show more visible signs of affection.  He knows I am protective of him, and that I liked having him in my classes, but I should have been more compassionate, probably, or shown more compassion. 

B is almost like a role model to ME.  She works hard to maintain a positive outlook, and she is friendly to everyone.  She is the only person I know who is genuinely excited about EVERYTHING.  Not in an annoying way, but sincerely, actually overjoyed to grade papers, or read a play, or hang things up in the hallway.

I want to be like that.  It's difficult to throw off this cynical tone I have, and people don't believe me when I tell them I'm happy about something; I always have to qualify my statements and say, "No, I'm being honest."  Sad.

I want these two to be able to look at me without derision or judgment, and to think of me as not just one of their favorite teachers, but as one of their favorite PEOPLE.  Because they are, hands down, two of my Favorites, General Category, not just Favorite Students.