I saw Amanda at school yesterday and it made me so happy that I could not help but make her Student of the Week! Unfortunately, these "Amanda sightings" are very rare. Grade 10 was a wonderful year: I taught Amanda PreCalculus 10 and I saw her (almost) every class. PreCalculus 11 was not quite as good: Amanda (and Maya) took my class "remotely". They watched the videos and did the homework on their own time. So the only time she came to class was when she had tests to write (i.e. not all that often). But this year?! This year is worst of all! Amanda doesn't take Math with me at all. In fact, she hardly ever comes to school at all (it's complicated). I miss you AG!!
Amanda DID run Cross-Country the past two years (see photo above). This afforded me the opportunity to see her a little more than I would have. And it allowed me to see some of her best traits on display. Amanda was always so positive, so encouraging to others, so determined, and so HAPPY! Of course, she is like this EVERYWHERE - not just at Cross Country running races!
One of my favourite memories of Amanda happened during the District Final race this year. Amanda always got her own way to the races, usually arriving shortly before the Senior Girls' Race. Well, I hadn't seen her when the Girls' race started (which was surprising, but not too worrying). Off went the girls, disappearing into the forested trail. And suddenly, there was Amanda beside me: "Oh no! I missed it!".
She had driven to Kerr and 52nd (basically as far away from KG as you can get and still be in Vancouver) only to find that it was all for naught. You'd think she would be annoyed, upset, embarrassed, etc. Not Amanda! Instead she stood with me for the whole race and we had a great chat. She told me all about her work, her sister (the wonderful Samantha!), her school courses, all sorts of stuff. So sorry you missed that race, Amanda, but I am truly glad you showed up. It was so fun to hang out with you for a bit.
In fact, Amanda and I had previous experience hanging out together. She was one of the KG France travellers in grade 11. She was such fun to travel with. Amanda and I have something in common: we both LOVE to laugh!! It seemed that no matter what we were doing in France - visiting museums, eating dinner, trying on dresses (do you remember that Amanda?) - we were always laughing. I'm sure it could seem obnoxious to onlookers but I couldn't have been happier. What a fun person Amanda is!
Amanda, I honestly wish I'd had the opportunity to teach you more. In fact, it's almost surprising how little time I spent teaching you considering how very, very fond of you I have become. May you never lose your sense of humour, your zest for life, your optimism, and your beautiful smile. I wish you all the best. Thank you for bringing me so much laughter over the past three years.