Today, one of my students who is now a junior at Boston University called out of the blue, told me he was on spring break, and made a request that brightened my heart: “Could I come over and write with you this week?”
My answer: “Well, of course you can.”
Shaun is a boy who I saw as a student from sixth grade until twelfth, not constantly, but a lot over the years because he loved to write science fiction. We worked on several stories together and submitted them to the Scholastic Artists and Writers contest. He won bronze awards his freshman, sophomore and junior years in high school and then he won a Silver Medal at state for his senior portfolio of writing that included several stories, an essay, and several poems. This was a major accomplishment and one for which he and I were very proud. Then off he went to college in Boston and I haven’t heard from him. Until today.
One of the wonderful aspects of being a private writing teacher is the number of hours I spend with my students working one-on-one. We write AP essays together, long short stories, and other projects that involve lots of time, and in the process, we become good friends. We are primarily focused on the work, but there is that extra time of getting to know little parts of each other’s lives, and we develop a real closeness with one another.
One of the toughest parts of being a private writing teacher is when my little chicks leave the nest and head to college. I miss them and I’m always curious about how they are doing. Often, they check back in with me and often ask for help on a paper or so. However, at some point, they are fully independent and I lose touch with them. Of course, I sometimes run into them somewhere in town – at the movies or at a shopping center and we greet each other like old friends.
And then there’s Shaun, who has asked to not just come for a visit, or even help on a paper, but rather to come back for a bit of our shared fiction-writing experience together. I am deeply touched by that request.
So, on Thursday I will see a boy I haven’t laid eyes on in three years. I am delighted. I will get to hear how BU is and how his college experience is faring. And then we’ll write and I’ll get to see how much he’s grown in his skill. That will be the best treat of all.
I am a happy woman tonight. There’s nothing quite like seeing an old friend again; especially one you’ve known since they were twelve and they are now twenty-one.
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