The Top 5% of our Generation

My friend Frank always (or at least a couple of times) says things about being in the top 5% of our generation. This week, I've been calling a lot of my friends just to say hello. As I do, and I hear about what everyone is doing, I am constantly reminded that the people that I am friends with, both from high school and from college are definetely in the best 5% of the people in our generation. I especially want to discuss my high school friends right now.

Linda and Laurel. Wow. That's just all I can say. No wait... I can say more. Laurel was always a little ecclectic in high school, and that's probably why we were friends. Now though, she is my prime example of why students should pay attention to fields that they dont think they will ever be involved in. Laurel was always in drama and won the artist of the year award every year that we were in high school. She left and went to Boston. Now she does the graphics for ESPN. Right - she has a jock job. All those graphics and everything that goes on during a game have to come from somewhere, right? But if they had given an award in high school for the least likely to ever have anything to do with professional sports, Laurel would have won it. Plus, she actually went far away for college, survived it, and now is making it in LA. She even travels for work. She is that important!!

Linda I already talked about when she got her blogger. She is going to be an awesome pharmacist. Already, I trust her more than any doctor that I would go to. But also, she has always been the perfect example of a great friend and a loving wife (not to me, but to Casey). I just love her. That's all there is to it.

And back to the original person that I mentioned - Frank. I don't talk much about Frank for two reasons. First of all, he was in Japan for the last two years, and second, because he doesn't have a blogger. I am very clic-ish about my blogger people. But he reads my blogger, so I guess for now that will be good enough. He's still getting used to the states.
This year, Frank has done one of the most amazing things that anyone I know of our age has done. He took custody of his 13 year old brother. Because of family situations, Frank didn't think that his little bro was facing much of a life the way things were going, so he went through the courts (and still is) to get custody of his little brother as soon as he came back from Japan. He didn't wait awhile, live it up in the US again, and then send for him, but instead as soon as he got here, they moved to Great Lakes, Illinois together (where Frank is now stationed). I can't imagine even having a roommate, let alone raising a child at this age. Frank has to establish a home for himself while also worrying about registering his brother for school, finding a home where he would go to a good school, geting school supplies, and on and on. Now, instead of going out, meeting people, hanging out with other marines, or basically doing anything that he used to do, Frank spends at least an hour every night helping his brother with his homework. WHen his brother isn't sure about a measurement, or anything else involving numbers, Frank makes it into a math problem to help him improve his math skills. He is patient with his brother and tries to help him learn and understand things in all areas. I know that I teach students every day, but I don't think that I could do what Frank is doing. I am truly impressed every day.

So, to conclude, I just want to say how lucky I am to know all of my friends. When I wrote in the right hand margin taht those are links to Wonderful Talented people, I truly meant it for every person. All of my friends are the kindest and most intelligent people of our generation.