Ignorance is bliss

Today I reflect on students which have come through my doors and are no longer around.

Last night at Wal-Mart, I ran into a student who was a sophomore the first year I taught here. I was making a timed run for coffee supplies between services at Oneighty, and was walking out the front doors, wondering absently where I had parked my car, when I hear an inquisitive "Mister King?" behind me. I turned, and a few moments later recognized him. We talked, and I learned that his 5-year old son was now attending school at Lockney Elementary, he is seperated from his first wife (whom he married around 5 years ago... do the math), and was waiting for his "old lady" to come out. (It turns out she was standing behind me in line.) I shared what was going on in my life, shook his hand a few times, and we said our farewells.

A few things troubled me about our meeting. First, I would have never noticed him if he hadn't said anything to me. He was pretty blinged out, and looked pretty scuzzy. Secondly, I was doing the math... he can't be older than 23 or 24. To have a marriage, a kid, and a divorce by that age... it staggers me. My wife pointed out this morning that he is probably one of SEVERAL "kids" that age that are still around here, probably in similar situations. Kinda depressing.

Today I was trying out Technorati blog search, just playing with search terms like lockney and texas and plainview and high school, and I came across the blog of a student who graduated last year. It painted a picture of loneliness that I never would have guessed at from having him in class. His profile listed "playing guitar and getting stoned" as one of his main interests. His last post, dated February 22nd, reads:

Do you ever get the sinking feeling that you are alone in this world? I have to say it is a feeling that has been reoccuring in my life lately. I have no idea why...maybe because I am? Who knows..?

Browsing his photo galleries showed several pictures with captions like "me stoned," "me passed out," and "me drunk and stoned."

And then, I found the picture that really made my stomach churn. Another former student from the same class was shown in a skimpy pink bra, with a shirtless, long-haired guy licking whipped cream from between her breasts.

What the hell?

This is a girl that I had in class for two years! She was always one of my best students! Bosoms and whipped cream would NOT be the first things that before today would have lept to my mind when someone mentioned her name...

So now I look around at the kids in my class (currently trying to stay awake through a Trials of Life video), and I am confronted with a question I've never asked myself: "Which of you people are going to end up naked on the internet?"

*shudder*

This is NOT something that my Wayland education prepared me for!

On a happier note, it seems that things are on track better than I could have hoped for regarding drama stuff for next year. One of my faculty colleagues tells me that the school will be replacing and updating the lights and sound in our cafetorium, so it will be more like a real theater than ever (at least since I've been here.) Between this and the indications from the big boss men that I might be teaching an actual drama class next year, I'm all grins. The possibilities stagger me.

Some of my girls want us to do a comedy next year (to make up for the serious, sometimes depressing shows we've done the last two years.) Fine by me, so long as it doesn't involve lingerie and dairy products from a can...