Nadine

I'm becoming really terrible about blogging. I think of things to say and then I just don't get around to saying it. One thing I did want to say though was about one of my students. I'll call her Nadine rather than tell you her real name. She was asking me a question about something and the subject came up about my family. I was telling her about how I didn't grow up with a Dad and such and she started telling me about her family life. It was really weird because she was smiling the whole time like it didn't really feel horrible. She said that her Mom and Dad fight a lot but stay together because of the kids. She said that her Dad drinks a lot and used to hurt her Mother when they were younger. I felt like I should say something so that she could change things in her life. All I could think of was to tell her that she doesn't have to marry someone who is like her Father. She said, 'you can't escape what your family is like and that what it is now is what it will be later for you.' I told her 'no, that's so not true, you do have control over how your life goes. You don't have to marry someone like that. You can find an amazing person that will not treat you that way.' She seemed encouraged, especially after I gave her an example from my own experience about not just accepting something but actually changing it even when it was really hard. I just pray that things in her life can improve. She does pretty poorly in school but she wants to improve and I can see her effort. She is a gem. Please pray for Nadine.