Five and her upside down and backwards writing

Five was a surprise from the first  time I met her. She was incredibly bright and had a personality that made her friends with everyone. She was that student that pulled groups together and made people smile.

She was also the student who wrote her work upside down. Her paper faced away from her so she was writing from the top to the bottom, but if you were sitting across from her you could read as she wrote from left to right. She was literally writing upside down and backwards. She did it unselfconsciously and like it was completely natural. She did that a lot, surprised people with who she was.

He siblings were equally surprising in that they broke every rule she followed, squandered every opportunity they were given even as she took advantage of every one she was given, and took a path completely opposite to hers. I was always watching to see if they and their lives would bleed over into her life and destroy everything she was trying to create. I’m thankful every day that they didn’t.

She went to high school and did so well she was offered a full ride to a college in another state in their Criminal Justice program. I talked to her when she got there and helped her find some activities she could attend to meet people and helped her edit a paper she wasn’t sure of and then got a Facebook message from her one day about how she had a professor who had called her out on not doing her best and how she reminded her of me and how she appreciated having me as her teacher and our continuing contact. There was something reflective about her message I hadn’t heard before and I was worried about her but she insisted she was fine.

Although she decided to go away to college, she never really felt like she belonged. After a while she was so homesick she came back home and went to a local community college while working as a security guard. She had known since middle school that she wanted to work in law enforcement and after graduating she spent time as a sheriff until settling in as a police officer. She and I kept in touch so I was one of her references during the interview process and they asked me if I thought she would be a good police officer and I almost laughed. She had made every decision since I’d met her with the end goal of working in law enforcement. I’d watched her shun bad choices, bad influences, and bad decisions over and over again. Joining JROTC in high school instead of a gang, going to work as a security guard while going to college instead of taking an easier job, and taking a job as a sheriff to gain experience while moving towards her ultimate goal.

I proudly watched her graduate from the academy and start working in the city she wanted to patrol and really start her life as an adult. I watched as she bought a house, bought a dog and found a serious relationship. But she’s still the same person she was in middle school. Sure of herself, intelligent, patient, kind, funny, and knowledgeable about the realities of the world as it exists but still believing that people can be good. She has taught me so many lessons about perseverance, faith, hard work, dedication and being who you are. She’s taught me my choices impact my future but also the futures of the people around me. She taught me that you don’t know which of the things you say or do will be the thing that makes a difference fro someone so you should always make the best choices you can and live the best life you can while you’re being the best version of yourself that you can possibly be.

She taught me some of the best lessons someone can teach you. Thank you Five.