Thread by @GregoryMcKelvey

So I loved all of my students in Portland but I had one kid who was honestly just special to me. I just found out that he died. This is just so painful because he had so much potential. Let me tell you about Mitchell

On my first day of work I was just observing the classroom and I hear this kid yell out: “is anyone in this classroom even fucking good at math, I feel like LeBron James playing against kindergarteners.” And I almost fell out laughing.

I turned to my supervisor and said: “is he actually good at math?” And she tells me he’s probably the best at math in the entire class. It was obvious he had some addiction problems but that he very was smart.

He kept coming back, and mind you this class is optional. He usually didn’t remember the day before but he remembered me. He spent a lot of time in class looking up famous peoples interviews. We would watch them together for hours. He knew so much about so many different people.

He understood those people. He had their same potential. One day he was absent so we checked the arrest logs to make sure he was okay. There we saw a criminal record all for trespassing or fair evasion on public transportation. He was homeless.

He was a good student. Not easy to work with but by far the most entertaining. He was the funniest person I ever knew. He was so close to graduating and if he would take the tests sober he could have had his diploma in one day.

One day he got mad at me. He walked in with a band around his hair and asked me who he looked like. I told him I didn’t know and he stomped off disappointed. He told my coworker he was upset that I couldn’t tell that he looked like a tennis player. He did. He was hilarious.

To a lot of people, nothing he said made any sense. But the more you were around him and listened to what he said the more you realized that there was a genius deep inside of him. That he knew that it was being suppressed. That he wanted that genius to break through the addiction

Eventually he just abruptly stopped coming to class. I was really worried about him but my coworkers assured me that it was normal for our students to go MIA for a long time. But I never forgot him. I kept that picture hanging in my office. It’s still hanging in my office.

I don’t know why I kept it. I just didn’t even think twice about it. It was one of the few things that made the move with me across the country. I think I wanted to never forget who I do this for, or that all people are good deep down. Something is just in the way.

Well, one day months later he came back. He still remembered me! He came to class after breakfast and we went right back to watching interviews like we had before. But he was different. He was just even more detached from reality.

Soon he told me that he just wanted to go to treatment. That was he moment I was waiting for. He didn’t come for class. He came back for help. So I asked my coworkers to cover my responsibilities for the day while I found a treatment place for him.

I spent all day on the phone trying to get him placed and waiting for calls back. He would go to the bathroom and come back even more intoxicated. He was panicking. He knew it could be real. Eventually I went in the bathroom to check and a needle was on the ground.

At that point, protocol was to kick him out but I just knew he wanted treatment. So I kept waiting and calling. No one would take him. Finally at the end of the day, someone agreed.

It was really far away though and I couldn’t drive a student myself so I had to order him a lyft. But by that time he was so intoxicated and nervous that he backed out and said he didn’t want to go anymore.

Eventually things were getting too bad with his use and one of my supervisors made him leave. There was really no options left. I never saw him again though. I just found out he died. His picture will remain on my wall with even more purpose.

I found this all out on the anniversary of my best friend dying from an overdose. Everyone is impacted by addiction.

Just remember who you’re fighting for. Remember when you’re bullying on the internet or calling people trash that they might not be trash. They might be really good deep down. Remember to not judge a book by its cover. Not all dirty, homeless, addicts are bad. They are my friends

Remember that politics isn’t everything. We’re all human. We’re bigger than politics. I have no idea who this kid would vote for and it wouldn’t have made a difference to me.

Remember that addiction is a disease that can impact anyone. Remember that it’s not as easy as just deciding to stop. Remember to help people. They need it.

Rest In Peace my friend. I’ll always keep you with me and just like all of my other fallen friends, I will try to accomplish enough for all of us. See you soon Mitch. ❤️