This is not a happy blog.

This actually happened in the end of October, but I didn’t want to include it with the fun stuff.

As I told you guys a few months ago, I helped a student prepare and submit an application to travel to America for a 3-week Leadership program. Well, a couple weeks ago I got an email of the selected students and my student was not on that list. I read it a dozen times just to make sure but he was not selected. It broke my heart. There have only been a few other times in my life when I have ever been this sad. I cried a lot and couldn’t stop. I wanted it so bad. I wanted it more than anything. This kid deserved it and this was most likely the only chance he will ever get to visit America. For a few days, I couldn’t even bring myself to say it out loud, let alone tell him. I didn’t want to accept that he didn’t get in. But Monday rolled around and I had to tell him that he wasn’t chosen. I pulled him out of class to meet with me and the Headmaster just like I did when I initially told him about the program. At first I don’t think he believed what I was saying or maybe, just like me, didn’t want to believe it. It was absolutely horrible. I cried, he cried. It was awful. Never in my life have I had to tell a kid that his dreams were not going to come true. I broke his heart in that moment I told him and it killed me. Thankfully, my friends were there for me so I got lots of hugs and support. When I left school that day, I felt defeated and helpless. I left my student with his friends. He couldn’t return to class because he was so upset. Later that evening, he stopped by my house. We chatted about what happened and I told him I would do my best to help him find another program to apply to or something, anything. He said that he wasn’t able to return to class the rest of the day because he was so upset and that he hadn’t gone home yet because he didn’t want to tell his dad who was doing to be so disappointed, sad, and upset. He didn’t want to break the news to his dad. My student often talks about how his whole family depends on him to be successful and how visiting America would be a huge step in reaching his goals. But he isn’t going, not now. And I am not sure when or if he will ever be able to go, but I have less than 9 months to try to find a way.

The end.