Grace Under Pressure

Tonight I am electing to talk about something other than my new preoccupation with my alpaca girls because I got a visit after school from a former student. This is a young man who was seriously a pleasure to have in my class two years ago. He is one of those kids who make coming to school each day worthwhile. He always had a smile and a positive attitude. Every day. He always did his best work. Every day. He comes from a close-knit, supportive family. I have always liked this kid but after some difficult times in his first year of high school I have come to really respect and admire him. This year he has faced unwarranted stress and harassment that finally came to what could have been a tragic climax. But through it all he held his head up and just kept coming to school and doing the work and struggling to keep a positive attitude. In the end he told me that he felt that this incident and the accompanying stress happened to him instead of someone else, because he is strong enough to take it and survive. That's the definition of grace under pressure. You cannot help but admire that kind of strength, integrity and dignity.