that tone of voice

Yesterday I experienced a feeling which I have watched my parents express often but never really understood why they had a depressed tone of voice. I work in an English school here and have formed a significant bond with my students. There was one in particular I had a hard time with in the beginning. He refused to do work and when I asked a question I would get the shoulder shrug everytime. He sat in the desk right next to the door, half in his seat and half out the door. Over time have been taking notice on what interests him and what catches his attention. Right before vacation I was able to get him to participate in class and when we took a field trip I cohersed some one on one time with him. And I saw his desire to learn. His desire to succeeed. After seeing this I felt like I needed to do everything in my time here to open him up in the classroom and to help him succeed. After being gone for a week I arrived back on the island with a desire to get back to my students. Monday afternoon I was walking home before class and I saw this student sitting at the concha. And I heard myself say in a very depressed tone-he is going to end up just like his parents- now f you are not from san cristobal you probably see no problem with the child sitting there. But the majority ( or at least those he was with) are not very cleanly, some are unemployed or have low paying jobs, middle aged men who make nasty remarks at young women, and some I have seen walking the streets drunk late at night. At that moment I realized why I had always heard the statement the way I did. I also realized why my parents worked so hard to be good role models. Because although someone has the potential to do great things, to become something more, why would they if all they have known their whole life is something less. But if this something less seems to be working why would one put in more effort?
For this reason I would like to thank my parents for putting in the effort and teaching me that anything is possible with work and sometimes a little help.
I would also like to sent out a general thank you to the teachers who are able to inspire students to man an effort. For those students who have no other positive influence and those who need a friendly reminder. Have encountered several teachers throughout my life which had the ability to inspire me in different ways ( Mrs.Atkinson, Mr. Fischer, Mr. Green, Mrs. Sievert, Mrs. Burk) and I hope that one day I may be able to inspire others.