the cherry on the top
01.14.04 // 6:13 p.m.

A student came by to see me. He wasn�t coming in for a session; he just wanted to say hi. Most of the time, this isn�t unusual, but this student is different.

See, he�s a challenge. When I first started meeting with him last year, I kind of dreaded it. He was really quiet. He�d answer my questions, but wouldn�t open up much. He even apologized for his tacit nature admitting that it would take him a little while to feel comfortable with me. That was his first year. He also really didn�t want to be at UCLA. He came here because his family wanted him to, but the campus was too big and impersonal for him. He commuted early in the mornings and then went home to work.

He did fine his first quarter here. His second quarter he got two D�s. That put him in a precarious situation. He was placed on �subject to dismissal,� but he didn�t tell me. I had to find out by looking up his records. He didn�t do so well spring quarter either, but by the time we met then he was a little more open.

Come fall quarter, I met with him again. We had a pretty good session, but it was still weird. He�s still not garrulous like some of my other students who I can�t shut up even if I tried. I did sense that he was more comfortable with me. He opened up about his academic difficulty, lack of motivation, and newfound sense of purpose. He didn�t want to waste the opportunity he had at UCLA.

At the end of the quarter he filled out an evaluation saying. It was fairly positive; he wrote that he was glad to find that a perfect stranger could care about the welfare of another person. He felt comfortable with me. Reading that comment made feel good, but it didn�t compare to his unannounced visit � my cherry on the top.

See, there are a few students who brighten my day with their cheeriness and general good vibes. This student wasn�t one of those. In fact, he still isn�t� but he�s shown the most growth and improvement. It clicked to me when he asked me how my graduate school applications were going that our relationship had finally become co-intentional, the way it should be.

I�ve always given him something. I�ve helped him out with classes, made him feel as if somebody cared, questioned his motivations and got him to think. He made me a better counselor� and he showed he cared too.

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Me siento: sappy
Escuchando: ghaith whistling

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