JASON . . .

I'm SO proud of how far Jason has come in the last year. He's always been pretty confident, but he's also worried a lot about what other people think of him. He never wanted to be a leader, because he was afraid no one else would follow. I remember when he was younger he wouldn't wear his hat on the bus on hat day, he'd put it in his backpack, because he didn't want to be the only one that was wearing one. That doesn't really seem to bother him anymore.

I've seen him grow up so much this past year. He has this confidence that I've never seen in him before. He EXCELLED last year in China. He had an AMAZING teacher, he made wonderful friends, he tried so many different activities that he's never done before. He was in the middle school play, he was in band, he took drama. He was doing all of these things that he'd never done before, and he learned so much from them. When he was in the play, it was A LOT of work; practices after school 3 days a week and on weekends, plus, he still had to keep up with his homework, which was more than he'd ever had in all of his time in school. But he did great. He'd stay after school for practice, come home and eat dinner, do his homework, take a shower and go to bed. He didn't get to play with his friends much that last month, but he never complained about it. (Well not much anyway, he was only 10 after all)! As a matter of fact, he told me that even though it's a lot of work, he had SO much fun, and he can't wait to do it again. I couldn't believe it! The same kid who wouldn't wear a hat on the bus was standing up ON STAGE in a LIZARD and an OYSTER costume, acting his little heart out in front of the school. I WAS SOOO PROUD OF HIM. I *AM* so proud of him.

I can't wait to see what he accomplishes in the coming years.