The last day I ever spent at Winston Middle School was the tenth of June, 2025. Quite a few interesting things happened that day, but the most important, at least to me, was when my ELA teacher, Mr. Joshua Zurbrick, announced the winner of the "mysterious secret third award" in his class. And, it ended up being me, of all people.
I believe he then gifted me a book titled The Writing Room by Eve Shelnutt, a diploma for being "student of the year" (even though I think that award actually officially went to someone else), a plaque for the "language arts award" at Winston Middle school, and a 3D printed model of a nutria. But before all that, he gave a very important speech. To me, at least. Here is how it went:
Before I announce the ELA student of the year, I have to tell a story. It'll make sense soon enough.
When I was in high school I was in a band. We were good musicians, but not a very good band. At this point I had dedicated my entire life to music. I was certain that I would make music my career and legacy.
Almost everyone in my band had taken music lessons from a man named Jeff. We all loved him. He was like a mysterious sensei who toured with bands we adored, who had lived the life we wanted to live, and who taught us everything we knew.
One day, we asked Jeff, which one of us is most likely to "make it." And, without hesitation he said, "Evan."
Now, this came as a surprise to me because I was certain that I was going to be a famous musician... and as you may have noticed, my name is not Evan. And, even worse—Jeff had taught Evan and I the same instruments!? I have to admit that I was shocked and a little hurt. I impulsively asked, "Why Evan!?" I tried to be cool about it, but I probably wasn't.
His reply didn't make much sense to me then, but it's crystal clear now. He said, "he's got it." I wasn't really sure how this could have happened. Jeff taught me how to play the drums. Jeff taught Evan how to play the drums. Evan's lessons were at 3:30. My lessons were at 4:30. Had there been some sort of top secret, mystical drum lesson I had missed?!
Jeff explained to us, "In art, whether it's music or whatever, some people just have it. Like whatever they touch just works. Evan has it. You guys don't, sorry."
Over time I forgot about that conversation. But, now that I have been teaching for a few years, I have encountered several students who have it. Like, whatever I task them with, they turn in something beautiful, or moving, or hilarious. Their creative sensibility is natural and permeates everything they do. The 2025 student of the year has it.
I asked this student for an informational essay, and I got 10 pages of information, presented from the perspective of an AI chat bot spinning out of control. I asked them for a memoir, and I got an interactive website with a dozen pages each dedicated to their time in WMS. This student was the first student to have ever received a perfect score on an essay in my four years of teaching.
As for my band: Evan toured the world. He became the drummer in one of my favorite bands. He still has it. Phil is a biologist. John joined the army. Griffin is an amateur professional wrestler in Idaho. And I am here. And my legacy is not to be a famous musician. It is to teach the wonderful kids of Winston, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Logan Meek, may you always have it, and may your hard work carry you to heights you have not yet imagined.
Logan,
Thanks for sharing your creative genius with me this year. I say this without exaggeration—your projects in my class have been some of the very best I've ever seen.
Live with creativity at the center of your life, it'll take you somewhere—probably somewhere unexpected, but probably somewhere great.
See you at DHSWC! (Douglas High School Writing Club.)
Mr. Zurbrick, you are probably one of the most influential people in my life. I don't even know how to describe how it felt to hear you say this speech. It sounds cheesy, but I'm half-crying while typing this. Probably because it's been an hour since I started typing this. But also because of how much this speech means to me.
It might sound pessimistic, but I'm probably going to die either homeless or with a sad, meaningless life. See, I've recently been beginning to realize that my cons outweigh most of my pros. I'm terrible at staying committed, I have procrastination issues, I have poor time management ... really just a slew of bad things for an adult with lots of responsibilites to have.
So if my life ends up being cut short, or if it's just sad in general, I'm glad I was able to meet someone so amazing before things went completely upside down.
Thank you, Josh. I'll never forget my time with you.