A Little Girl Named Alex

I have been thinking a lot lately about the possibility of becoming a school counselor.  I think I'm a better "connector" than "teacher," and I would love it if my job was to connect with kids.  I am also very drawn to middle schoolers.  When people find out I want to teach/I'm teaching middle school, they groan or scoff or talk about how evil middle schoolers are.  How awful their middle school experience was.  How they were bullied.  Isolated.  Awkward.  And you know what?  I was, too.  Middle school was painful, and I was homeschooled!  The dating scene began, and tact still wasn't intact.  Not a good combination.  It was a time before we all figured out deodorant and tampons and cover-up and tweezers.  It WAS awful.  But on the other side of things, I see how awkward and precious and insightful these kids are.  They are still cute, but they are becoming who they will be.  They understand wit and sarcasm.  They have life experience.  They have opinions.  They are just so special.

Today was my first day back at school after my car accident.  My "fan club," aka 8th grade drama, was so excited to see me, and surrounded me with questions and concerns and updates.  Details on my accident turned into experiences they had had with car accidents.  One of my favorites, a girl named Alex, starting sharing a story about a car accident caused by her older brother, in which his truck was t-boned.  She was in the hospital for a month, and recovered out of the hospital for an additional month.  She had multiple facial cosmetic surgeries, her right hip was "pushed up," her ribs broken, and her liver lacerated.  Here I've been complaining about chest pain, and I didn't even spend a full night in the hospital.  And she was a kid.

Alex is a kid who has somehow been overlooked by my mentor teacher.  I noticed her a couple of months ago -- noticed her spunk and spirit, her acting abilities, and her stage presence.  She has a large scar on the right side of her face, which I've always thought just added to her character.  Now I know it's from the car accident.  I also know she has been made fun of for this scar.  But she told a group of us of her accident and her facial surgeries and scar so boldly, so matter-of-factly today.  She is a 13 or 14 year old girl who has already faced death and pain and recovery and isolation.  And she is amazing.

So, for those who write off "middle schoolers" as a bunch of little smelly jerks -- some of them are.  But most of them are like Alex.  They've lived, and they want to tell their stories, just like all of us.