One of my worst experiences as a tutor
I got this student from my therapist. She told me about this young patient of hers that desperately needed help because she was going to fail her classes. Apparently she had had a cancer diagnosis which sounded horrible but this was when I first started out so I told her I couldn't afford to do it pro bono (this is important for later). I just jotted down the most important information and soon after got contacted by her mother.
My therapist made it sound like she was 11 years old and super sweet so imagine my surprise when I first entered the building and the mother was just exiting the building (practically fleeing) and she thanked me profusely but something felt off. It sounded like she wasn't grateful for me being there but moreso that she was sorry.
So I wiped that bad feeling to the side, got up the apartment complex and standing there was a 15 year old, goth girl who didn't even greet me but just shuffled inside. Inside there was trash everywhere, when I asked for a glass of water she couldnt even get to the sink and the air was thick and smelly.
What followed was one of the worst lessons I've ever had. It turned out she was the most insufferable person, she would constantly, openly start berating me about literally everything. And I was really suffering but this felt like the ultimate moral test.
You could clearly see that her wig had been badly placed on top of her bald head. And that she didnt have any eyebrows.
After it finally ended I politely said goodbye and darted out of there as fast as I could.
So now I was sitting at home still processing what a giant shit show that just was and I was mindlessly texting the father who was supposed to pay the lessons about the price and all of a sudden I was violently torn out of my half lucid state by having to argue with the father that I was not in fact "already paid".
To this day I don't know if he didn't know or if he expected me to say "Because your daughter has cancer I will do it for free." And it's not as if I charged a lot back then either btw.
I should've just said no to the whole thing at this point. After fulfilling multiple weird requests like detailing out the lesson and making a plan for upcoming lessons I finally got paid.
What followed was one of the worst months of my life because I was stuck in this moral obligation because clearly there wasn't anyone else willing to do tutoring for her. But I was dreading every second of it, developing sleep problems and staying awake the day before the lesson for hours.
I think it ended with her passing her test so that she could stay in her grade and her telling me to which I said something like: "Great. Don't contact me I will contact you."
I think she got the message and I've not heard from her since but all of that was right at the start of my tutoring business and I'm thankful everyday that I haven't had any experiences like that since.