a conversation

I look forward to going to school everyday, especially when I go to the behavior classrooms. I look forward to those challenges. The challenge of relating to emotionally disturbed children on a daily basis is very rewarding for me. Knowing that I am making a difference in some kid’s life, even if only a small one is the best gift I can give them, and it makes me feel good. These kids have had rough lives. I feel for them, I really do. I feel like I have been very blessed with everything that I have that is for sure. When I see what these kids have been through at their young age it makes me cringe.
I had a student tell me that he had thoughts of killing himself, because he felt so bad. It was his twelfth birthday that day. At the end of that day I sat at the desk and reflected on my day and I honestly had a hard time with that conversation. It just angered me that some parents can be such horrible parents. A boy celebrating his birthday should have a lot more to talk about, but the fact that he trusted me enough to come to me and talk to me, left me with a feeling of accomplishment. At the end of our talk he told me that he was glad that we had our chat, he said he felt better. I guess that being there at that school that day was my purpose. Not even that it is about me but that conversation will influence that kid’s life. Even if only for a short time, and he doesn’t remember it a year from now, I’ll always know that kid needed someone to talk to, he needed to get some things off his chest and I was there for him to talk to.