Disappointment.

This week, I did something that nobody in my family has ever done. I stepped into an upper echelon, obtained something that nobody else in my family ever has:  I graduated from college.  It was only with an Associates Degree, so it's not like it's a huge deal.  But still, it's a pretty good feeling to be able to say I'm a college graduate. Or at least, I guess it must be a good feeling; I wouldn't know how it feels. All I feel is major disappointment.

I am not disappointed in myself.  I worked extremely hard to get where I am at.  I put in the effort and was awarded a degree.  The degree was not just handed to me. I earned that degree. Here is my source of disappointment, the thing that hurts the most:  I invited some of my high school students to come and watch me do what I once thought was the unthinkable -- becoming a college graduate. I asked them to give an hour or two of their time on a Thursday night. So many of them assured me they would be there, said that they would never miss it, said they wanted to help me celebrate. All in all, I invited more than 60 students to come to graduation to celebrate with me.

One student showed up.

I don't know if I've ever been hurt by something more in my life than I was during that night.  I couldn't truly celebrate because the people who mean so much to me in my life didn't even care enough to show up.  The one student who did show up, however, is one of my favorites. He is a young man that God will do amazing things in. I appreciate him so much and really have come to love him like a little brother.  I wish it were enough to make up for the feeling that none of the other kids didn't even care enough to show up, but it isn't. It just isn't.