By Craig Williams

Jared Bunting skipped fourth grade en route to fifth. He’s onto his miniature schnauzer’s mischief and knows how to calm its anger issues. He’s empathic enough to feel the loss of enrichment opportunities his Pre-K sister will suffer because of COVID-19. As a 9th grader this year, he’s clear-eyed enough to already have in place a plan ‘to work on it, the minute his GPA falls below a B. That’s impressive. What’s more impressive is Jared’s humble, grounded nature. When I ask him what makes him unique, he says, matter-of-factly, “I don’t get into trouble.”

He takes care of his household animals, a chicken, the aforementioned miniature schnauzer, and — until recently — a cat. He’s got near-term designs on becoming a breeder of rabbits and long-term designs on digging up the bones of his chicken’s ancestors — dinosaurs. En route to becoming a paleontologist, Jared wants to take more classes on biological sciences and hopes to attend Shawnee Community College, when the time comes, to put his postsecondary trajectory into forward gear. He’s also interested in archaeology, which figures into his thoughtful narrative on life and all things living and dead. The son of a nurse who works directly with COVID patients, Jared has seen, first-hand, the impact of science, denial, compassion, and healing. He’s been saddened and frustrated by the quarantining of friends. He has learned how it all connects. Like those bones he’ll one day drag out of the dust, the metaphorical thighbone connects to the knee bone, and the knee bone connects to the ankle bone.

Logic could easily govern his view on the world or on his own future, but he’s far too smart and compassionate for that. I gave him an imaginary magic wand and asked him to tell me how he’d use it to produce his ideal life 15-years from now. The kid’s got his priorities straight. “I want to have opportunities, but being near the people is most important.” People matter to him, and so judgment of them doesn’t. He’s got people he loves and who love him back all around him. And that’s what matters. And we love that.