This post is really just inane whimsy.
I've known for some time that an old student of mine has entered show business. I think it was Chip who told me. This wasn't really such a big surprise as his father had also been a well-known singer in his heyday. Anyway, about 10 or 11 years ago, Simon Wood and his sister Sydney were in my high school English classes in the small Christian school where I taught part-time. Simon was a junior while Sydney was a freshman. I have never actually caught Simon on TV or heard any of his songs, but I have googled for pictures. It seems he has grown out of this particular look he had then. At that time, he wore thick-framed glasses and kind of had an endearing geeky style. He was a sweet boy, very good-natured, although he didn't really fit in well with most of the other kids in that school. That's probably partly because he spent most of his childhood in the States. Anyway, I'm glad he's doing well in his chosen career. He's probably in his early or mid-twenties now, something that his former teacher finds hard to accept (mostly because that means I'm clearly no longer 24 myself, lol). In any case, he was one of those kids I was extra-fond of (I didn't have pets... there were always just kids who appealed to me more for one reason or another), although I didn't really get to know him that well since I was usually gone by noon. If he remembers me at all, his recollection would probably be of a very short (most of my students towered a foot over me - and that's me with heels), somewhat nutty teacher who had a big frizzball of hair every time it rained and went on and on about matchbox 20's Rob Thomas. Well, crazy or not, I hope he and his classmates learned something from me.
The other boy I'm going to talk about wasn't actually a student of mine. He was in 6th grade when I taught in that same Christian school. I stumbled across the fact that he has also entered show business purely by accident. One of my Facebook contacts gushed in her status update over the hotness of one Xian Lim. Okay, I'm talking about a woman who's older than myself, besides also being married with two kids. Anyway, I thought the name was familiar, so I went to google images again for verification. My suspicion was correct. It was that chubby 11-year-old boy I'd known a decade ago. Of course, now he's quite the heartthrob, it seems. I'm really quite pathetic about the local entertainment scene since I don't watch any local TV at all except for the news. I wish I could be democratic and say that I don't watch any TV at all, but that would be, well, a lie. Anyway, Xian was a very cute boy even as a child, and a big galoot. It goes without saying that he also towered over me (I really should have taught kindergarten instead) as young as he was. I don't really know much about him since he wasn't even my student at all, although I'm pretty sure I'd reprimanded him a couple of times in the hallways or in the cafeteria... He was 11; he understandably had many moments of mischief at that age.
So, basically I'm just namedropping here, lol...maybe also reminiscing... At the end of the day, I guess I'm mostly just amazed that these kids aren't really kids anymore, which brings me back to... well, I'm in my thirties and two months after this baby comes out, I officially hit middle age (if I base it on the biblical life span of 70 years... and if recent surveys are to be believed). Sigh. Life seems to take on a more bittersweet flavor as it progresses.