I cannot express how happy I am that tomorrow is Friday.
Not only that, but the Friday before a three day weekend.
The end of the year makes my students mean.
It's wearing on me. I need a break.
I ended the day with a 7th grade girl
crying in my room about her impending breakup.
He won't respond to her texts or calls.
I found it difficult to find things to say...
I'm not going to be honest and tell her this is just the beginning.
That her heart will be broken again and again.
Because that's just mean. Even if it's true.
And yes, one day it will all work out, right?
One day she'll meet a boy who won't break her heart.
So what to say? I still don't know.
I told her any guy worth dating wouldn't do that to her.
I told her to tell her friends and to let them be there for her.
And then I distracted her with things coming up to look forward to.
Is there anything else anyone can do for a broken heart?
Thinking back to our middle school years,
it's easy to dismiss those times as being the Worst. Ever.
Are things really that different? Or are we just better at handling it?
Because sometimes I still feel like my middle school self.
I didn't get invited to the get-together with old friends.
I am still in constant fear of getting my heart broken.
I still think about myself too much.
I still stay up too late on school nights...
I really appreciate this post! I'm glad she felt safe talking to you and that says a lot about you as a teacher! I feel like sometimes I wish things were as easy and carefree as they were then but sometimes I think things don't change and there's still the same old drama. One thing I'm glad for that hasn't changed is our friendship over the years!
ReplyDeleteYou are spot on. Things aren't really that different and we are better at handling it but kids have more ways to be mean now. Things that are immediate and somewhat irreversible (social media). That was very sweet of you to be a good listener. That's all a kid really needs sometimes.
ReplyDeleteGood post Holly! The last 5 lines are spot on. I think one reason we are better at handling it now is because we can't be carefree, we have real life things we have to keep up with (rent, bills, a job, etc). But I have such great memories of us hanging out in middle school, you introduced me to scrapbooking!
ReplyDelete