Not Always Who They Seem

Those of you who know me know that I love watching The Office. The show has nothing to do with business, but rather it is a show driven by its characters. The actors play quirky, sometimes creepy, sometimes stereotypical, most of the time funny, characters. I think I could relate at least one character to someone I know in real life, idiosyncrasies and all. I feel the same about characters in other shows like Friends or The Simpsons.

But, every so often, viewers get a glimpse into a part of a character that is not usually seen. Dwight Schrute is one of the characters on The Office; he is guilty of being over-zealous about the tasks he's assigned to as second-in-command to the Regional Manager. He likes to be seen as authoritative, but sadly is very naive and gullible. Pranks are often pulled at his expense and because of who he is, viewers frequently get a good laugh out of what is done to him. However, (spoiler coming up) in the last few episodes, Dwight and Angela Martin were going through a very heartbreaking end to their "secret" office romance. Last Thursday, I saw Dwight cry in a way that would cause any man who knows the awful feeling of breaking up with the love of his life to feel the pain all over again. Taking pity on him, or more like showing empathy, another character tries to reason the pain with Dwight. Later, Dwight returns to his stoic, obsessive, power-hungry, know-it-all persona as if his heart was never broken.

Sometimes, when I look at the students we have in my school, I can see a Dwight. Or a Bart or a Phoebe. Being the overseer of Learning Support Services, I have to attend meetings before we accept a new student, especially regarding one with an "impressive" file to know what we're dealing with. Almost all the reports make a kid sound like it was the devil himself coming into our classroom. Sometimes we could be dealing with criminal records, history of abuse, reports of bullying others and being bullied themselves, mental health issues, etc. But, sometimes, after receiving these reports and after meeting and getting to know the kid for a week or two, we find that the devil we dread was really a fallen angel who is just looking for direction to get back to where he/she belongs.

I hear and see a lot of bad stuff going on with some people in the news. And sometimes, I wonder if these people never had someone who took the time to show them the right way. After all, if no one took a chance with me, I think I would continue going down the wrong path until someone falls down and not get back up. Then the media swoops down to show the world the wrong I had committed and not allow the side of me that I wish others could see. I hope that I don't have to see any of my students go through that.

I hope that I am quicker to love than to judge. A Dwight Schrute might come my way and instead of looking at his difficult personality and rolling my eyes, I would look and see a human being with the same feelings I have and learn to love and care for him. It'd be nice if we could all see someone's innocence before we could see his/her guilt and show the care that is really needed all along.