Until Friday afternoon, I was a substitute teacher. I subbed in my childhood district, thinking I would relate to teachers, administration, and students. I was even seriously considering getting licensed so I could teach.

Middle schoolers are pricks. Giant pricks. The degree of their misbehavior escalated every time I was subbing there, reaching a point where they felt perfectly comfortable hitting me.

After the first day of this happening, (nearly three months into the school year), the office warned me that this is a problem that has occurred every year for the past three school years. Multiple subs had quit in the past few weeks, right on schedule. They told me I should feel better, not only because I wasn't alone, but because I didn't quit and walk out in the middle of the school day.

Somehow that didn't make me feel better.