the masks come off!

I love my job. We did our mask "presentations" today. All the kids stood up in front of the class and told the story of their mask, how it came to be, and what they got out of the experience.

There were many reasons for me to be frustrated about the results. I could tell that lots of time went into the decorating of the masks, but it was also apparent that most of them were not getting the deeper meanings I had hoped for (and I told them not to put any expectations on the project. I should talk!)

But then one kid stood up with a blank white mask and just told the truth.

He had forgotten it in his locker and didn't decorate it. This being his senior year, he had been feeling stressed out and overwhelmed. Too many things pulling at him every hour of every day. Then, last week, he had to lie on his back for 20 minutes while someone applied plaster to his face. He couldn't see, hear, or talk, and so he just . . . finally . . . relaxed. And that was really great, he said. The first time he had relaxed in weeks.

So this morning, as he was panicking about not having his mask done, he took it out of his locker and held it up to his face. And in that instant he found the same peace and relaxation he had found the week before. All the pressures and stresses of the day just vanished. He was right back in his peaceful place. In his telling, I could see how moved he was by this. And I was moved by his courage to say something so "real" in front of his peers.

And it made the whole experience worth it for me. I know and trust that many more kids had positive experiences with this ritual, and I'm going to try to stop worrying so much about it now.

Posted: Fri - October 24, 2003 at 11:33 PM

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the masks come off!

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