The dreaded email arrives at night. We are having an emergency faculty meeting before school tomorrow. Your heart immediately sinks. You have already heard the whispers. You know something terrible has happened.

You rush to school. The meeting has started. It sucks. Everyone is crying or awkwardly standing around. The proverbial black cloud has arrived and will not leave anytime soon. You hear the words being said by your leader yet it all seems surreal.

How do we process when terrible things happen to young people? There is no silver lining. No circle of life justification that makes it better, like when your grandmom passes after holding her grandchildren. There is no blame we can place, fairly or not,  like when someone smoked their whole life and died from cancer or someone never exercised or watched their diet and succumbed to hypertension or diabetes.

There is nothing to say other than life is unfair. I am jealous of the devoutly religious in these cases. The burden that is lifted from their shoulders due to their steadfast beliefs in purpose and better places allows them a peace that will elude the rest of us.

The only good thing that arises is the reminder to appreciate life a little more and cherish each interaction like it may be the last. Remember that time is finite. We will never have enough. No one is guaranteed a tomorrow. Appreciate what you have. Be grateful for all the goodness that exists in our lives. Remember why we teach and push out the negativity that comes from everything outside of our classrooms.