Dear Marcus…

There was an altar set up in the (former) EOSA building for our lost student and EOSA family member, with papers available to write messages, and this is what I left:

Dear Marcus — I will never forget...
… your sweet, beautiful smile…
… you so often acting goofy in class — and somehow managing not to drive me crazy in the process...
… how you always asked me to play Chris Brown songs for warmup stretches…
… you going on stage all by yourself (after much encouragement — and pushing) to perform your sophomore-year Beginning Dance final as a solo, when your partner didn't show up…
... your junior year dance history final, in the style of Michael Jackson...
… senior year, after being kept out of school for a couple of months, you came back the day before (the day before!) the Winter Concert — and pulled off your part in "Rocka My Soul" with style and aplomb…
… when the whole Dance Production class was asked to come to your Student Study Team meeting, to help keep you on track in your senior year…
… on the way to performing at New Highland Elementary, you grabbed me just before I would have stepped off the curb in front of a car I hadn't seen coming — saying "Mrs. Goodwin, I just saved your life!" (and you did)…
… did I mention your sweet, beautiful smile?…
... and of course, your absolutely invaluable contributions in a class that made some truly meaningful dances together...

You were so much a part of my teaching life for those years, I still can't wrap my head around the idea that you're gone so soon — I will never, never forget you.