10/10/2025
I received a message from a hesitant teacher in Nevada that says he was contacted in a dream by Ray-Ray. He’s asking for nothing, he’s waited 4 years to even share the story…
Here’s what he said when I asked if he know our Ray-Ray:
No, I didn’t. But I think he gave me something important once. I’m not too familiar with his story. I’m a 36 year old high school teacher in Las Vegas. I started teaching middle school, which was fun, but I thought I’d make more of a difference in high school. My first year teaching high school, we were all online because of the pandemic lockdown, and our first year back in-person things were different and I had to figure out what that would look like for me in order to be able to provide the best positive impact to give my students their best shot at success and happiness. I purposely teach at a school in a low-income, high-crime area so that means tackling many factors and circumstances that put my students at risk of unfortunate life outcomes.
This isn’t typical for me. I don’t really dream, and when I do, it’s all nonsense. But I did have one in 2021 that meant something. In the dream, I was on my lunch break and walked somewhere to get food. I have a car so like that would never happen and it was in an area I’d never seen before because the buildings looked like they were blue and white and yellow and made of wood, and we don’t have that where I live.
I passed a young man standing against a wall, I can’t remember if he was a senior in high school or was recently out of school, but he was still there on the way back and I could tell something was troubling him. So I had a conversation with him. He said he’s seen me come and go and asked me if I was a teacher. I said yes. He said he had had moments when he felt like he messed things up for himself and moments when he made decisions he regretted because he felt like it couldn’t be fixed and asked me if I had students who go through the same thing. I said I think so, and he asked what I’d say to them. I said I’d let them know that life is long and full of opportunity and that there are programs and ways to change course. He said “I think that makes you a good teacher. Sometimes it’s hard to see things clearly when you’re young.”
Then he asked if he could get my phone number. I said yes (not something I’d do, we have laws here in Nevada against that) and handed him my phone. He gave it back and when I saw his name on the phone, I woke up like super abruptly, taking a big gasp of air. I scrambled and grabbed my phone and put his name into Facebook and right at the top was the legacy Facebook group with his picture on it. I joined it that day, but never interacted with anyone in it until now. I thought about reaching out, but thought I’d come out looking like an opportunistic scammer or one of those total freakshows that try to inject themselves into other people’s lives for attention or whatever motivates those kinds of people.
I was inspired to share it now by a student of mine that told me 2 days ago that his mother used to see flashes of a cousin of hers that had passed, but no one believed it until a second person said it happened too. I don’t know why of all the people in all of the world, it was me. In education, the impact of a teacher is only as strong as what you give yourself permission to do. As a result, I can tell you that from that moment onward, I never again hesitated to walk up to a student and make conversation if something seemed to be troubling them. I’ve never had trouble talking to students about addiction or ways to change course if they want to. I’ve seen him for a split second when students tell me they’ve completed rehab or are about to have wisdom teeth surgery and don’t know what narcotic medication is. I’ve never again let a drug be brought up casually in conversation between students without making it into a serious conversation about risks. I’m not sure I had all of that in me before. It may be in an entirely unconventional way, but he made a difference in my life and the lives of students and even with other teachers I’ve shared this story with. Anyway, I thought you’d maybe like to know, and if not, then I apologize in case I disturbed your peace
