to eric:
my ex-student advised me not to get too close to my students

~~

i like trying to make people feel good about themselves. when i walked eric home during the night of the SYF opening ceremony, i didn't know how things would turn out. i only knew that i couldn't abandon him.

for a while, we were trading work experiences, never mind the fact that we were apart by 11 years. it's surreal that our sentiments towards working life are uncannily similar. it was a good thing that i struck the jackpot because he sounded so carefree then and i could take the opportunity to remind him that he once had dreams.

i realise that what teenagers need most in times of crisis is not sound advice but companionship. even though i may be able to persuade him rationally, it doesn't matter because he craves the space to make his own mistakes. funnily enough, i respect that because i was once like that before.

~~~

thank goodness i returned to ajc yesterday.

i just felt very happy meeting my maths tutor and my ex-student



hmm. not bad ah. 2nd year teacher can count people as ex-students liaoz.

i think i can remain happy in teaching given a conducive environment.