A Tribute to Nassa

I wrote in an earlier blog entry that Peter (Yupik name is Nassa), a student of mine last year, committed suicide over the summer. His family, classmates, and friends have had a rough year without him. Well, I had written a couple of songs for my family and made some videos, so my roommate, who teaches writing, wanted the kids to write song lyrics. Then we decided to make it a project. I taught the students how to make a video and they had some fun with it. So the point of explaining that... a couple of high school boys wrote a song dedicated to the memory of Peter. We showed the class the video with their song, and after it was over, every person in the room was near tears. It was so touching - the raw emotion and sincerity was palpable. It was so somber. 

What was I suppose to say at this point? I went to the front of the class and just stood there wiping the tears away, and I felt so sorry for those kids. They have hard lives, and even though I have days where I just want to pull my hair out, I know that they have to deal with hardships I couldn’t even imagine when I was a kid. 

So that’s what I told them. I also told them that I had lost a relative when I was young, and I never understood why. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through, but my mom gave me some advice once, that when a child of God dies young, their Spirit remains young. It’s hard now, it’s unfair, it doesn’t make sense - but we’re not meant to know everything. We just have to be patient. Heaven needs both old and young people. Now, I’m not sure if Peter was a child of God, but that need for salvation definitely opened these students’ eyes. We discussed what Heaven would be like and I was so, so, so happy to see them hopeful and more optimistic about life. 

They wanted to watch the video again, so we did. This time I got goosebumps because the whole class started singing along. The song mentions they hope to see Peter at the Golden Gates. I told them before I had to move to my next class to make sure they go through those Gates one day - make sure you’re right with God before you leave this life. 

I know I’m not the greatest teacher, but I know these kids need more than knowledge of books. So I don’t regret a minute being real with these kids, being open and honest, talking about what needs to be addressed. 

The boys who wrote the song and made the video asked if there was a way to put it online. They wanted so much to make this dedication a lasting tribute, so of course I said I would upload it for them. You can watch the video at the link below, and while you watch it, say a prayer that these students will find the peace that comes with being a child of God. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsaQ5ARVoB8