THE KEON JENKINS FOUNDATION

Mrs. Karas: Sunflower Speech from service

Being a teacher is kinda weird. Every new school year, I pray for the students that will be under my care. They start off as just names on a roster. I don’t know their faces yet, or what makes them tick. Over about 180 days however, we become this weird little family. We laugh together, cry together, grow tired of each other and have to come back together each day and choose to love one another again. Then, at the end of the year, these kids move on and they are no longer mine. They are out there walking around with a piece of my heart forever.

540 days I spent approximately with Keon. It wasn’t long enough. Long after I had him as a 6th grade student, I spent my afternoons running an after school club that he was a part of. He also made it a point to come see me whenever he could. When I had him in 6th grade he spent the last 2-3 months eating lunch in my room with a handful of other kids. The summer going into his 7th grade year he emailed me and asked if he could still eat lunch in my room. It broke my heart to tell him our lunches weren’t at the same time. I did however make sure to invite him to one last lunch in my room his 8th grade year. I’m forever grateful I did, because I didn’t know that day that when I hugged him goodbye..it would be the last time I ever saw him.

Every teacher knows that each year there are a handful of kids that God places in your care for a reason. I know without a doubt Keon was meant to be my student: I grew to know him better than many students I taught over the years. He’s what I like to call a Velcro kid. He was attached at my hip trying to find ways to be a helper or talking my ear off. He told me every little detail of his life..including when the toilet was clogged. My little buddy. He grew to feel like family to me. And I knew he felt the same way. He had a way of reading people’s emotions and looked out for those he cared about all the time. Whether it was bossing the other students around so they wouldn’t make me mad.., fixing my computer, or projector..or my favorite..when he finally grew taller than me..and would help me get supplies I needed from the upper cabinets so I wouldn’t have to stand on a chair. I can still hear his voice saying: “I got you Mrs. Karas!”

The last week of school his 6th grade year..Keon would ask me to play one of his favorite songs at the time. sunflower..by post Malone. This song has always reminded me of him. After I heard the news, I cried out to him and begged him for a sign that he was ok. So far, I’ve seen a rainbow, a shooting star, and more sunflowers in a week's time than I’ve ever seen in my life. Typical Keon. Showing off.

I decided to look up some facts about sunflowers this past week. What I found describes this kid so well. So here’s a little sunflower knowledge for you:

Sunflowers are tall. Some grow to over 30ft tall. While we all know Keon never seemed to stop growing, he also stood out from others in a way that was hard to ignore. They are the biggest flowers..and we all know nothing about Keon was ever small. Everything he did..was big. Including the amount of love he had for others in his big heart.
Sunflowers follow the sun. They actually track it all day. He was a kid who always reached for the positive side in things and sought to find the light in others. Even on the days where I lost my temper or felt like the worst teacher ever..he was right there reminding me that I was doing a good job.
Sunflowers can help clean up polluted soil and water by absorbing toxic metals and radiation. Keon absorbed the feelings of those he cared about and always did his best to make them laugh if they were feeling down. Even on my hardest days..that kid would put me in a better mood.
What appears to be a single sunflower is actually a composite flower head made up of hundreds or even thousands of tiny individual flowers. This reminds me of the complexity of this child’s mind, the way he would analyze something right down to the smallest part to try to understand it. I used to tell him he would make a great engineer some day. He didn’t just deeply analyze objects though. He did this with music, artwork..and even people. He asked questions until he knew all there was to know about something or someone.
Sunflowers are often associated with happiness, positivity, and adoration. The smile on that kids face warmed a room. I’ll always remember his contagious happiness.

What a powerful flower. What a powerful kid.
To Keon-
540 days with you was not enough. But it was enough time to make memories that I can return to when I feel sad and start to miss you. These memories make me laugh through the tears. I’ll be forever thankful for that .

I told you all the time “use your powers for good kid!” And I know you are up there in heaven..doing just that. And I know without a doubt you are up there asking God a MILLION questions.

I’ll leave everyone with one last thing. I was looking at Pinterest on my phone the day after I found out. Not only was there a billion images of sunflowers…but this poem was at the top of my feed. I know it was from him. It blessed me and I hope it blesses you all too:
When I Go
When I go
don't learn to live without me just learn to live with my love in a different way.
And if you need to see me close your eyes
or look in your shadow when the sun shines
I'm there.
Sit with me in the quiet and you will know that I did not leave.
There is no leaving when one soul is blended with another.
When I go
don't learn to live without me just learn to look for me in the moments.

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