To Eren
Dear Eren,
I am writing this the year after your death and it is so incredibly hard but there are some things you need to do for the amazing people you encounter. My father was enamored with my impressions and stories of you because you were the strangest, most wonderful student I possibly ever had. I sit here writing this thinking how in the heck I ended up with someone so incredibly individual and fantastic. I called you Penguin. Here's why...
I remember you coming to my classroom in 6th grade and you were this tiny little Turkish boy. You had the strangest accent I've ever heard. Still to this day I am the only one who can mimic you (that I know of) because even your sister had no idea where you got that accent. You raised your hand in my classroom and asked me, very seriously, "Miss? Why did the penguins take over Antarctica?" It was the strangest question I had been asked in middle school (which was saying something). This question started a beautiful, deep caring about what a complete whackadoodle you were. A week later, I overheard you speaking to a partner in a group assignment saying, "Well, maybe they don't live there because of the evil polar bears...". You were dead serious. I don't know where this obsession with Antarctica came, but it solidified my absolute adoration of you as the strangest kid I'd ever known.
You used to come to my classroom in 9th period one year, in full science lab gear (goggles, apron, the works) and announce to me that you were starting a new fashion trend because you tied your apron in the front. You once got dressed in a full fur gear and represented a bison in Ancient Civilizations for our cave paintings project. When I assigned roles for the creative writing project about the battles of the Persian Wars, what other 7th grade boy would get "Woman waiting for the man-folk to come home from war" and exclaim so loudly that he would "MAKE THE MOST AMAZING WOMAN!!!" And you did. I remember you raising your hand and asking me, "Can I be pregnant during wartime?" and I was flabbergasted. My response to you during 7th grade was basically, whatever you wanted to do, I was just curious how far you would take it. I allowed the pregnant Spartan woman story and it became one of my favorite stories. I remember you arguing with another student who was assigned Leonidis, and he was insistent that his role was harder because he was leading his men into battle and going to die. You didn't even begin to skip a beat and continued to shout with an interesting motion (hands waving down your body) "But I'm having a baby!". You said this s0 many times within my classroom that when you left and went into the hallway, I started to become concerned.
The point is, I have so many fantastic memories of you and even a year after your death I find myself desperately trying to not hurt as much as I do for you not being in this world right now. When I found out, I thought about how much this world would be lacking without your beautiful heart in it. I thought about the fact that this world does not deserve to know a life without you. The world deserved better, because you were unprecedented. You were something else. You were truly one of a kind. So I decided to write you this letter to tell you...we all loved you so, so dearly. You were something special and I am so grateful I got even a short bit of time with you. I am so grateful that I still to this day can imitate your accent and give people a little bit of your optimism, curiosity and wonder. You were one of the best humans I ever got the opportunity to meet, and teach. I am so thankful for that. So wherever you are, Eren, I hope it is a beautiful place. Because you were a beautiful little human that I will treasure forever. We all love you.
Best,
Strem
I am writing this the year after your death and it is so incredibly hard but there are some things you need to do for the amazing people you encounter. My father was enamored with my impressions and stories of you because you were the strangest, most wonderful student I possibly ever had. I sit here writing this thinking how in the heck I ended up with someone so incredibly individual and fantastic. I called you Penguin. Here's why...
I remember you coming to my classroom in 6th grade and you were this tiny little Turkish boy. You had the strangest accent I've ever heard. Still to this day I am the only one who can mimic you (that I know of) because even your sister had no idea where you got that accent. You raised your hand in my classroom and asked me, very seriously, "Miss? Why did the penguins take over Antarctica?" It was the strangest question I had been asked in middle school (which was saying something). This question started a beautiful, deep caring about what a complete whackadoodle you were. A week later, I overheard you speaking to a partner in a group assignment saying, "Well, maybe they don't live there because of the evil polar bears...". You were dead serious. I don't know where this obsession with Antarctica came, but it solidified my absolute adoration of you as the strangest kid I'd ever known.
You used to come to my classroom in 9th period one year, in full science lab gear (goggles, apron, the works) and announce to me that you were starting a new fashion trend because you tied your apron in the front. You once got dressed in a full fur gear and represented a bison in Ancient Civilizations for our cave paintings project. When I assigned roles for the creative writing project about the battles of the Persian Wars, what other 7th grade boy would get "Woman waiting for the man-folk to come home from war" and exclaim so loudly that he would "MAKE THE MOST AMAZING WOMAN!!!" And you did. I remember you raising your hand and asking me, "Can I be pregnant during wartime?" and I was flabbergasted. My response to you during 7th grade was basically, whatever you wanted to do, I was just curious how far you would take it. I allowed the pregnant Spartan woman story and it became one of my favorite stories. I remember you arguing with another student who was assigned Leonidis, and he was insistent that his role was harder because he was leading his men into battle and going to die. You didn't even begin to skip a beat and continued to shout with an interesting motion (hands waving down your body) "But I'm having a baby!". You said this s0 many times within my classroom that when you left and went into the hallway, I started to become concerned.
The point is, I have so many fantastic memories of you and even a year after your death I find myself desperately trying to not hurt as much as I do for you not being in this world right now. When I found out, I thought about how much this world would be lacking without your beautiful heart in it. I thought about the fact that this world does not deserve to know a life without you. The world deserved better, because you were unprecedented. You were something else. You were truly one of a kind. So I decided to write you this letter to tell you...we all loved you so, so dearly. You were something special and I am so grateful I got even a short bit of time with you. I am so grateful that I still to this day can imitate your accent and give people a little bit of your optimism, curiosity and wonder. You were one of the best humans I ever got the opportunity to meet, and teach. I am so thankful for that. So wherever you are, Eren, I hope it is a beautiful place. Because you were a beautiful little human that I will treasure forever. We all love you.
Best,
Strem
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