The Rose Bowl (F*@K $C!)

On April 25, I had the opportunity to attend the UCLA Spring Football scrimmage at the Rose Bowl. Since this will be the last time I'll really get to go to the Rose Bowl (at least for a couple of years), I decided to make the trek out to Pasadena. This is, I believe, the second year that they've held the event at the Rose Bowl and I generally enjoyed myself. There is something about going to the Rose Bowl in this setting that makes you feel really special -- like you were invited to an exclusive party. The only non-delightful part was the $15 parking charge. Ugh, the City of Pasadena is truly the epitome of greed!

The scrimmage was kind of boring. I mean, it's not like a real game. The real fun for me came after the game. I got to go onto the field. At the Rose Bowl. The freakin' field!!! The other awesome part was seeing two of my former students from my previous life as a high school teacher who are now UCLA student athletes...and trust me when I say that their mothers make sure there is an emphasis on the word "STUDENT!"

By the way, excuse the face. I totally forgot I was going to take pictures and I hadn't done my makeup (obvs) NOR had I straightened my hair, so it's all gross and pulled back.

Rahim was one of my favorite students. I had him in my AP US History class a couple of years ago and he was just such a nice kid, period. He always had a smile and a joke (OK, sometimes way too many jokes!) but he always put in effort in the class and was generally pleasant which is a lot more than I can say for other often hormonal teenagers. I had the pleasure of getting to know him and his mother over the course of that year and I am blessed to continue being friendly with each of them.

Johnathan (better known as Jet Ski by just about everyone, due to his blazingly fast speed) was never technically my student, but he's BFFs with Rahim. I got to know him more during the summer before his senior year. I had worked as one of the senior class advisors for the previous class and had counseled many students on options in terms of moving on to college. One of the negative parts of working at inner city schools with strong sports programs is that many times the kids are seen as vehicles for the coaches success, but no real attention or care is paid to the student's future. Sure they will accommodate coaches who are on campus to recruit the student, but the academic piece is completely missing. I did a lot of work for the high school's graduating student athletes in talking about academics and also counseling students who were perhaps interested in walking on, but weren't recruited athletes. One of the parents from the senior class is friends with Jet Ski's mom and introduced us at a graduation party for her son. We hit it off and started talking a lot, particularly when it became clear that Jet Ski was going to UCLA. Jet Ski might look familiar to people who watch the docudrama Baldwin Hills as he was one of the stars of the second season. Another great kid with a wonderful mom.

As you can tell, I'm totally proud of these boys and wish them so much success.