Hi Fledgeling....
your words always fill me with hope and happiness....sometimes....it's those one steps back that i focus on and get me down. I lose track of the steps forward. And when I see or hear from an old student, I feel good and hopeful, like I am doing something worthwhile...but then...the demons come out to play and get me sidetracked....And this didn't happen until this year....whether it was just too many sad cases or my identification with my girl, and her horrendous ordeal just became a trigger to almost everything, I don't know.
I am going to meet with a few of my old clients this next week....going to do a lunch ... if we can get our schedules to work out... they are all doing good, and im on cloud nine since they are planning on going to college, getting their applications lined up, SAT scores sent in, finanaical aid forms filled out...and the really neat part....all of them will be first generation to not just go to college, but to finish high school....it is this that makes me feel worthwhile, and hopeful.