A Letter to a Lost Student

Dear Student,

I know I am not your mother, but after spending a year with you, I feel like I am. And even though it has been seven years since you sat in my class, I still feel like you are mine. I rejoiced when I saw you were going to be a father. You even told me happy birthday on Facebook, and even though we never talked, you had to know I was only an email or a message away. This morning when I saw that you were wanted by the police department. I cried. What could you have possibly done? The kid in my English III class who read the role of Giles Corey in The Crucible or the one who needed an additional day on his Gothic tale, could not be capable of such things? I see why parents say “My child couldn’t possibly…”

I know you were not perfect. We had many talks when I brought your work to the detention center. I even lectured you when you had gotten into a fight over some nonsense, and you promised, never to fight again at school, and you didn’t. I watched you struggle in your classes, but you always worked hard and passed in the end, but I wonder if I should have done more? Should I have made more of an effort to make sure you got to into college? Deep in my heart, I know I did as much as I could, but as any parent or any person dealing with children, we wonder if we did enough. I know you are capable of your decisions and as an adult, I mean I know you are 25, but in my eyes you will always be one of my kids, I wonder if we failed you in some way.

Now you are missing, and everyone is on a frantic search for you, even considering you dangerous. I cannot see it. I have seen pictures of you holding your child, smiling and laughing. How could you be considered dangerous? Like any parent, we know that we have to let our children lead their lives, but I thought you were on a better path. I thought with a high school diploma; you would be safe from the mistakes that others may make. I sit here in disbelief.

Despite what you may have heard or even believe, there will always be people that care about you. Even your teachers that you haven’t seen in years. The choices you make not only affect yourself, but everyone who has been in your life or will be in your life. Your daughter will worry about where her father has gone, the mother of your child now will truly be a single parent, and all your family and friends will worry about you. We care about you, even when you make mistakes that hurt yourself and even others.

So as your teacher, let me give you some advice even though you are not in my classroom, it is never too late to turn your life around. You never have to let your past dictate where you will end up. Every day is a new beginning. Just because you have lived your life one way does not mean you cannot change. I hope you are safe for the sake of your family. I hope you make the right decision to turn yourself around. And of course, if you need any help because you do not know how to turn your life around, your teachers will be there to guide you. Just because you left our classroom, does not mean you left our hearts.

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