About Nick, Memories of Nick Farley February 25, 1985

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About Nick, Memories of Nick Farley

February 25, 1985 - June 7. 2007

ELEGY FOR MY FRIEND

For Nicholas A. Farley

It makes me angry when they say that you were “so full of life.” It is a phrase that is offered to remember the deaths of young everywhere.

You were electrified with life, brimming with it, far more than most of us can be.

I imagine you alive sometimes, with these little conductors- these milky threads of hot energy shot through the network of your body.

This amalgamation of light originated from a small, frenetic place inside of you, the kind of place that I have glimpsed in my own center when I ride a roller coaster or jar awake at night. You had one, I’m sure of it.

I believe that your energy’s center was shaped like a square, not unlike your teeth, shoulders, and yes, even your honest face. It suited you.

In life, your energy made you do a backflip every time you scored a goal. You sang loudly and off-key in the car to any song that came on.

I have heard that the stars that burn brightest, burn quickest. Like one of those stars, you crashed through my world at light-speed. Then like a star that winks out, you were gone.

Like those stars, I still see you. Mostly at night. I remember the summer when you said you had me figured out.

You said that every moment I was awake I couldn’t sit still. You said I was forever choreographing a dance that told the story of my own life.

I watched you imitate me in the rear view mirror as I drove home from the beach, your curls stuck up salt-stiff, framing your laughing face.

I think you saw that in me because you had it in yourself.

JOAN FAGAN

FEBRUARY 2008

PRINTED IN THE ISSUE OF MOBIUS, THE POETRY MAGAZINE

FALL 2008

Ann Dolbear, Louise Freese, Charles Newhall, Becka Hitchcock

Carroll School Staff

Those of us who had the opportunity to work with Nick while he was at Carroll quickly recognized his perseverance and his intellectual inquisitiveness. A gifted, naturally talented athlete, and a

popular student at his former school, Nick found it difficult to leave as a seventh-grader and make a transition to a new setting and a daily commute. Nick also know how hard his mother had advocated so that he would have the opportunity to attend Carroll in order to work on the reading challenges he faced.

Nick made friends quickly. He also became aware of his learning differences and what effort he had to make. He worked with his tutor on fluency and began to use his strategies consistently in all his classes. His improved fluency helped his reading comprehension and he was quick to perceive the themes of the novel in his language classes. His love of history was evident from the moment he walked into class. He made connections, joined in discussions, and shared his own knowledge. Nick was a good listener who engaged his peers in discussion.

Nick always used the skills he had. He was a gifted athlete who was named Athlete of the Year when he was at Carroll. He played varsity soccer, track and field, and basketball throughout his high school years and was named captain of both his track and field and basketball teams. Throughout his time at Oliver Ames High School, Nick maintained a 3.0 average. In 2004, the senior class recognized his versatility, skills, and determination when they voted him, “The person most likely to change the world.” He went on to UMass Boston, where he was majoring in history and was on the Dean’s List.

We will all remember Nick as persevering, inquisitive with an ever-present smile, and a student who loved learning.

(For additional Carroll School Information Visit: www.carrollschool.org)