Is it always better the second time around?

So, I spent last night vegged in front of the tv for the first time in a long time (and not watching the political world either!) In a nice contrast to my race away from thirty, I was faced last night with my "youth" - Beverly Hills 90210 was BACK! Yes!!! This is what women my age have been waiting for, right? Who did Dylan finally end up with? What color will Donna's hair be? Will Brenda and Kelly ever be friends again? You get the gist - important questions of life that needed to be answered... Well, I was highly disappointed! Just another teen drama with too-skinny girls, too much money, teenage drinking, drugs, sex, etc - as a high school teacher, nothing I sadly don't see on a very frequent basis. It got me thinking about second chances. Are they always worth it? I'm not so sure.... Think about it, sequels are VERY rarely as good as the original (something someone should have told Sylvester Stallone - stop after the original Rocky!) Why do we always feel the need to top an already good thing? But I think some things in life deserve a second chance, but how do you know what? What relationship do you forge ahead with, forgiving the past, and maybe not forgetting, but trying to bury? What student do you give your trust to, yet again, after they have disappointed you? Maybe there is something to be said for second chances. I know friends who are remarried would strongly believe in the concept. What does it take for a success the second time around? I've figured this out so far - don't set your expectations high. I went into last night hoping, somehow, to be zapped back to my teenage years in my parents basement, fighting with my sisters, but somehow managing to all get along for that hour on Thursday night when we got to see how the "other half" lived. I was hoping to see that Brenda and Dylan had settled down with a family (I was always a Brenda/Dylan fan, NOT a Kelly/Dylan fan) and that David and Donna were still happily married. Any maybe that Steve and Janet had a nice family and he was a successful stay at home dad (not nearly enough of them in the news these days, aside from Sarah Palin's DH!). Because of these expectations, I feel like I lost two hours of my life. Instead of watching for what it was, mindless brain-numbing tv, I hoped and expected, and was left feeling disappointed. I'm taking this as a life lesson. Don't expect more than you should of people who are not close to you. Sure, set the bar high for your children because you know what they can do - however be realistic and be sure that the bar you set is the one they want to work for. As a high school teacher, I decided, after last night's tv disaster, to let my students lead the way this year. I will NOT expect them to be perfect, happy to be in school EVERY day, alert, atentive, hardworking, etc. I will expect them to be normal teenagers, and I will expect myself to find good in each and every one of them. And while everything in the world may not deserve a second chance, I still believe that our kids do. So that is my personal goal this year - to never give up on any of my "kids" and to see the potential they all have - even if it takes several "second chances!" So yes, in education, second chances are very much worth it - I should know - I remember getting quite a few when I was young, and I consider myself pretty successful, so they must have paid off afterall! However, 90210 should probably have stayed a memory of the 90s - acid washed jeans and the Peach Pit serving pie - not lattes!