Happy Ending Ahead

by jme

I got a phone call from a former student yesterday. This kid hasn't done badly, considering the problems he's dealt with throughout his life, but he'd given up and made a few bad decisions lately (starting with dropping out of school). So I sent him a Christmas card with an "I believe in you" message scribbled at the bottom.

He called me yesterday and said, "I just wanted to talk to you. You're the only person who believes in me." I said it probably just seemed that way, and he said, "Well, there are people who believe in me like they know I'm capable of doing better than I am, but you're the only person who always believes in me, even when I do something stupid." He said several times, "You just don't know how much your letter meant to me."

This kid was laid off from his job before Christmas and is scheduled to take the GED next month. He thinks he will pass the test and that he will be called back in to work early next month, but he still sounded pretty down. A lot of things beyond his control have gone wrong, and, as I've said, he's made some bad decisions on his own.

I know this isn't a "happy ending" (at least not yet). This boy clearly feels like a failure and feels totally alone, but he still has a glimmer of hope. And he asked if it was alright if he called again if he needed to talk. (Of course, I said yes.)