Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Three Beautiful Things 05/21/08: Spurs' Collapse, Essay Struggle, Cerebral Palsy

1. Well, if the Spurs are going to be like the 1969 Celtics, they are off to the right start! They have made it unlikely that they can win the Western Conference finals series after giving up a twenty point lead tonight and losing to the Lakers. It's going to be fascinating to see if they can regather themselves and come back Friday night with a brave effort and knock off the Lakers. I was at once disappointed tonight in the Spurs, but very impressed, as always, with how the new and mature Kobe Bryant led the Lakers from so far behind to victory.

2. My student Ryan has great ideas and is a smart guy, but he has problems envisioning how his thoughts and ideas can take shape in an essay. He came to my office today. I gave him some advice about how he could write his essay about his mother's sense of self-worth is attached to her job and how Ryan thinks one's sense of self-worth should come from within, not from a job. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for him.

3. I had another "get to know you better" conversation with Trisha today. She has a teenaged son who has cerebral palsy and I inquired into his condition and learned more about what his challenges are and how his condition manifests itself in his day to day life. He's very fortunate to have Trisha as a mother. His father is devoted to his well-being, too. I say it all the time: I'm not sure how my students do it, how they face the difficulties of their lives away from school and manage to excel in their studies at the same time. I admire Trisha a lot, along with so many of my other students.

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