My Valentine.

One of my students is incredibly socially awkward.  We don't know what exactly is going on with him. But, we are certain we can attribute his issues to the fact that his mother abandoned him at a young age, and he is being raised by people that mistreat him and rarely give him food.

Despite the fact that he is the oldest boy in my class, he is the smallest.  This year, I've seen him come out of his shell more and start to find his place among the other students.  It has been an exciting change to witness, but the best moment of all happened this week.

Everyday after school, Biolan stays late to eat some extra rice.  When he was finished eating and walking away, I called after him.  When he turned around to look, I flashed him the "I love you" sign in sign language.  I had taught it to my class the week before.

When he saw that, his face lit up and he signed "I love you" back to me.  I asked in English, "Biolan, do you remember what that means?!"  He smiled again with a cheeky grin and said in English, "Yep.  I love you." This time in Creole I said, "It's true? You love me?"  Yet again, he smiled at me and just simply said, "Yep" as he turned to leave.

I couldn't ask for a better Valentine than that.