One of my favorite students got shot six times in a drive by over the weekend. Head, twice in the stomach, arm, leg, back. They’ve done one surgery and he is in a coma. His family haven’t been allowed to see him yet and he will probably die.
Yeah he’s in a gang, but this happened while he was at the corner store picking up a fucking gallon of milk for his sister. He’s always been so good. He’s respectful, he turns in perfect work that shows effort and thought. He’s good to his classmates. He has a quote on his folder that says, “Peace is the only way to happiness.” Goddamn it, he’s one of my one kids who I felt was actually trying to get out of his shit conditions and look what the fuck happened to him. He had a chance and it was just taken away from him.
I feel like I failed, which I know is a naive feeling because it assumes that I have more influence over his life than I actually do, but I just feel like I’m failing in general. I wish I had taken the chance to tell him how much I appreciate him and how smart and talented he is, and how he could take himself away from all of this mess but I didn’t and that’s my fault and I fucked up.
What kills me is that all these ignorant as fuck people are going to read his story in the newspaper and write him off as another fuck-up gangster who deserved what he got but the truth is that Jorge has worked harder and deserves more than every single spoiled, stupid kid I met in college and now he will never get that chance. It’s a fucked up world.
I think that having dreams and goals is the most passionate, beautiful part of life and I love teaching because you get to help kids realize their goals and their potential and you get to help create that beauty and excitement for them. This whole thing just kills me.