Something to say.
I would like to say thank you, Ms. Jackson. Thank you for not giving up on me. You always keep me on task. Ms., honestly you teach like you been doing it forever. You make learning reading fun. You are a fun teacher. I am happy to be taught by you and honor to be your first class. I remember one day, I didn’t want to do nothing. It wasn’t a good day for me. But when I got to your class all I wanted to do is learn.
Dear Keandra,
They are wrong.
Ugly is not your reflection in the mirror but a reflection of their character.
Ugly is on the inside, festering under their skin.
They are wrong, and they are bullying you.
“Horse Face,” Mark Milligan smirked as he slid into the seat next to me on the first day of seventh grade. “We’ll call the new girl Horse Face!”
Everyone got a good laugh except for the apparently long-nosed, big teethed girl sitting in my desk. His words, foolish and mean-spirited, drew enormous, hot tears from my equine eyes.
More than a decade has passed since that traumatic first day of seventh grade, and yet I’m still a little insecure about whether my face actually does favor, of all creatures, a horse.
Ugly, ugly, ugly. It’s time for a realignment of the way we talk about what counts as ugly. Faces and braces, frizzy hairs and gawking stares, vicious lies and teary eyes. We have to stop tearing each other down and confront our own insecurities deep within.
That’s why those girls are saying mean things about you. You know that, right? They’re insecure, so they say something ugly before someone else can call them the very words they’re using to put you down.
It will get better. I have already met with the girls and their parents. Insecure or not, there is no excuse for the way they are treating you, and it has been made clear exactly what their consequences will be if they continue to bully you.
They are wrong about you. You are full of beauty and strength. Keep your chin up. They don’t deserve to get you down.
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
Dear Randall,
Sometimes, a secret to life presents itself over a sticky menu at a hamburger joint.
“Do you want sweet potato fries or regular fries?” the heavily-tattooed waiter asked patiently, as my mom puzzled over her choice.
“Um… Sweet potato! No, I think I want regular… Oh, I don’t know!” she sighed in exasperation.
The waiter’s beard curled into a smile, as he said six words that have become a Jackson family motto:
“Don’t fake who you really are.”
Suddenly mom’s choice was easy. In the end, she didn’t really want fancy fries; she wanted regular, salty, delicious French fries. She realized she was tempted to order sweet potato fries because they were trendy.
Most of the time we are faced with decisions that are more complicated than what type of side to order with our hamburgers. But the wise words of our waiter still ring true. If you know who you are, you can make decisions that you are proud of and that you won’t regret.
It’s a new year. You have a blank slate and a fresh start. Beginning today, you get to decide what you will be known for.
Who are you, really?
Are you the kid who storms out of class when he doesn’t get his way? Or is that how you fake who you really are, as you try to cover the pain of burying your brother a month before his fifteenth birthday?
Will you chose to continue to act like you don’t care about failing grades and daily phone calls to mom? Or will you be the young man I’ve seen glimpses of – the brilliant, kind and courageous Randall?
I have believed in you long before you believed in you. And I’m not finished holding on to hope. On this first day back to school, I want to challenge you to be the best version of yourself.
Who will you be? What will you do? What will people remember about you?
No one can choose for you, but you are not alone. I’m here to support and encourage you into becoming the man you and I both know that you can be.
From sweet potatoes to salty French fries, whether it’s a little decision or a big one, don’t fake who you really are, and don’t forget that I believe in you.
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
Dear Angelique,
It was fun to run into you and your mom today! I absolutely love that you were at the bookstore, buying the Divergent series with your Christmas cash. I am so proud of you and the way you’re spending your time over the break.
See you in 11 days!
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
Dear Beatrisa,
It’s day three of winter break, and I’m grading midterms. As I’m working, all I can hear over and over in my head is your refrain during the test:
“Koala, koala, koala.”
I could not, for the life of me, figure out why you were repeatedly chanting about a marsupial under your breath during the Language Arts test. Exasperated, I threatened to take up your exam if you continued to be a distraction to your class.
Without missing a beat, you looked up at me and said, “but Miss, all these questions are about a koala, and there isn’t a koala story in our whole packet.”
Mortified, I flipped through your test and discovered that you were right. The test had miscopied. Your diligent reading and insistent chanting saved the day. I was able to recopy the test and avoid a major disaster on the midterm.
Even though we had to sacrifice my sanity to get there, thank you for saving the exam. I owe you one!
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
Dear Miguel,
I’ve watched you silently absorb into Shaun, Keenan and Davian’s group. You never seem to instigate trouble, but you are often caught with the consequences of following that crowd.
Please be careful over winter break.
Life is a series of choices, and if you continue to passively follow others down this often dangerous path, you could find yourself in serious trouble.
What strikes me as different about you is the way you respond to consequences. Today, when all four of you were placed in detention instead of the Christmas party, you were the only one who did not argue, complain or shut down. You accepted your situation, as if you knew that your actions earned the consequence for skipping math class on the last day of school before break. That tells me you do know the difference between right and wrong.
It’s time for you to step up. Stand your ground on issues you don’t want to be a part of. Be strong enough to walk away and refuse to be part of the crowd that makes dangerous decisions over the break.
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
Dear Tiana,
You have matured from a reckless little girl into a fearless young woman. Channeling the same strength and passion that used to get you in trouble, you now act as a leader in the classroom and on the basketball court.
You are truly a remarkable woman and a joy to teach. I will be at your game this weekend, cheering you and the team on to victory.
With the incredible strides you are making athletically and academically, don’t let a strained relationship with LaKeysha take you back down the path you were once on. You are too smart, strong and sensible to let a little girl drama derail your progress this year.
LaKeysha is working through her own issues. I need you to stay in your lane. We only have one week of school until winter break. Your grades are improving, but we still have work to do. I would love to recommend that you stay on the basketball team, but I need to continue to see excellent character from you – in class, the hallway and during electives.
All my love,
-Ms. Jackson
Rivers & Roads 