A Sad First

Today I experienced another 'first' as a teacher. Via Facebook (isn't everything via Facebook now?) I discovered that a young student of mine from my Carleton North internship died over the weekend. This is the first time, as a teacher, I've had a student pass away. I could've gone without this experience, that's for sure. It's strange, in a sense. He wasn't family, he wasn't a friend of mine. But he was important to me, while I was his teacher. Every morning when he would come into History, he was always smiling, joking and laughing. He was such a sweet boy, full of life, laughter and with so much ahead of him.

At 17 years old, you're far too young to be gone. Rest in peace, Tyler. I hope that wherever you are, in whatever form, you are happy and at peace.