So declared one of my writing students yesterday, apropos of nothing. Most kids were busily trying to create paragraphs that would fool teachers into permitting them to pass the English Regents exam. I was perplexed.
"You're lost in this world?" I asked.
"I am," she affirmed. She was smiling as she made this declaration, so I thought perhaps she'd just had enough of writing about pasta. I couldn't blame her, as reading about it was making me hungrier by the moment. If anyone got between me and a plate of rigatoni, they were toast (though a crusty artisan bread would've been preferable).
"What you need is a map," suggested a helpful student. "Then you'll know where you are."
Another said, "No one uses maps anymore. You need a GPS."
I like my GPS, which has gotten me out of Darkest New Jersey many a time. But my lost girl just kept writing. I don't know if I can help her resolve her existential dilemma.
But I'm confident she's gonna pass that test in January, and at least that will get her one step closer.
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