Some People Are Amazing But Might Not Realize It
We must take every opportunity to let them know.
Molly is not her real name. I changed it to protect her privacy. She was a student in my 10th grade English class this past year.
She was reserved, mature, a thinker. Her hair is brown, shoulder-length, and naturally wavy. Her bangs sat right above her eyes. She frequently brushed them off to the side, but they moved back into place.
I never saw her talk to any of the other students unless she was in a group activity. In that case, she would turn her attention to the group, have her Chromebook or notebook ready. She was attentive to whoever was speaking, including me.
Around November she stopped coming to school. Eventually, she was dropped. Students are usually dropped if they miss fifteen consecutive days of school.
I figured the school made a mistake. She had not been absent for more than fifteen days. It was a late Friday afternoon. The office was closed. I was going to go fight for her on Monday.
On Monday I received a group email that Molly had been dropped from school because she had been admitted to a mental health facility. My chest grew tight. I thought about all the things I could have done to connect with her. I was sad and wondered if I would…
