"Are you okay, Teacher Terri? Are you safe and well?"

This morning my alarm sounded at 5:50 a.m. I groaned. I hid my head under the pillow and maybe even vocalized my disdain. "Nooooo!" Slowly, I sat up, turned on the light, opened my MacBook and logged into VIPKID, where a couple minutes later, Cindy arrived. Wiping the sleep from my eyes (I know, I'm not supposed to do that, but...habit), I smiled, waved my hand, and said, "Hi Cindy!"

Cindy is one of several Chinese students, with whom I spend 25-minute class periods, teaching all aspects of the English language and culture. She is one of my favorites, an older student, 15, who speaks English nearly as well as I do. She's amazing, both in her command of the language and in her sweet character. She is kind and funny and so eager to learn. Her optimism is contagious, and I draw upon her spirit to wake me up in the wee hours of the morning.

Today, as is often the case with Cindy, we finished all her slides (curriculum) after only 20 minutes. That left us five minutes to fill. All VIP classes are 25-28 minutes long. I asked Cindy if she wanted to play a game or just chat. She said she wanted to talk.

"What do you want to talk about?" I asked.

"I'd like to talk about this virus," she replied. "I feel so very sorry that now your country has it. Are you okay, Teacher Terri? Are you safe and well?"

I reassured Cindy that I am just fine, that my family and I are being safe and staying home. I thanked her for her concern.

Then she expressed her sadness and fear: "I love the United States," she explained. "I've never been there, but I hope to visit one day. I love the culture, the music, the movie stars, the fashion. It's so cool! I'm worried everyone in the U.S. now hates my country, that they think the virus is our fault. I worry that you will hate me."

This brought me to tears, right there in our online lesson. This sweet teenage girl is worried that my opinion of her could change because of a virus. Oh Cindy, nothing could be further from the truth.

I wish I could have told her that no one feels this way, that no one is blaming China for a virus. I wish I could have told her that everyone understands we are all one race, the human race, and that with international travel the norm today, viruses spread. They just do. It's no one's fault. Certainly not China's.

I couldn't tell Cindy that. Sadly, there are those whose racist remarks inform her fears. I've heard it. I've felt it. Our president, himself, promotes this stigmatization, this racism. Reports show his briefing notes, where the word "corona" before "virus" is crossed out and replaced with the word "Chinese." How terribly, terribly sad.

But no, he won't define my opinion of humanity. He is just one man. Sadly, he's in a position of tremendous power, a thought that can feel terrifying...because it is terrifying.

Still, he won't crush my faith in the inherent goodness of most people. He won't.

What's the best evidence I have? A teenage girl in China is worried about me. She's worried about me, an adult old enough to be her mother, who lives 10,000 miles away and whom she's never met in person and probably never will.

Thank you, Cindy. You rock, girl.