Yesterday, the halls were full of students and staff in mourning. This was the third death our school has had to deal with in the past six months, and each has taken its toll. I tried to just be there for my students while still going through the day as normal. Quite a few stopped by during my prep period and between classes to talk or even to just get a hug.
Aside from sadness, I've been feeling anger and frustration. I've been particularly upset with those students who sped out of the our parking lot as they left school, clearly not learning a lesson about driving in icy conditions. They believe that this is just a matter of luck and that there is nothing that they can do to prevent it, and then they take risks that clearly put them in more danger. See? Anger and frustration.
Although I only barely knew her, I've certainly been affected. My mind keeps wandering back to what happened, how it could have been prevented (wear your seatbelts, people), and how we have lost another young person. It has made doing almost everything take more time these past couple of days. With this, and Janelle leaving for Schuyler's funeral next week, my mind has felt muffled by a fog of sad thoughts.