Brandie Halls

   Mom has been working 2 jobs since Daddy left 4 years ago.  I try and help as much as I can around the house and even with my little after school job at the YMCA.  I buy most of my own clothes and pay for what ever I need at school, like when we go on a field trip or something.  I just hate that Mom has to work so much.  My brother and sister are missing out on so much with her that we used to have.  Christopher really needs Daddy around but he has better things to do than help his own son.  Why is it that when a man leaves his wife and divorces her, he also divorces his children most of the time?  I don’t understand that.  My mom’s brother, Uncle Jack is really pitching in and helping with Christopher and Kayla but it’s not the same.  Daddy hasn’t even paid child support in about 2 years now and they don’t seem to be able to do anything to him about that either.  Mom has taken him to court several times but it costs her money for a lawyer and the day off from work for nothing it seems.   Oh sure they tell him he has to pay it and tacks a little more in the monthly payment he’s supposed to pay but then that’s the end of it.  I never would have thought my Daddy……….well my Father would have done us this way.  He’s not our Daddy anymore, he’s just our Father.  There is a big difference because any male can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a “DADDY”.

   Crystal is a girl on the cheerleading squad with me.  I caught her making herself throw up in the bathroom after lunch Friday.  She said she just got sick but I have heard her do that more than once when she didn’t know I was there.  I’m afraid she’s bulimic.  I have been researching it on the Internet and there are a lot of health risks associated with it.  I’m afraid for her and can’t decide if I should just talk to her and explain all the risks with bulimia or if I should tell her mother my suspicions?  I talked to my mother and  she thinks I should tell her mother.  I’m just afraid it will make Crystal hide it even more from all of us and then we’ll think all is well with her.  Maybe our cheerleader coach would be the best one to talk to about it since she’s the PE and Health teacher at school.  Crystal might listen to her better than us.  I just don’t want to lose another friend.

   Today in biology class, we had to dissect a baby pig.  YUCK!!!!  I totally did not enjoy that at all!!  Yes I want to go into medical research but hopefully I won’t have to dissect anything like that again.  I’m just not into cutting into a stinky pig, ya know???  I think I got a good enough grade on it though even though most of the time I was saying “EEWWWW” through the whole procedure.

   We have the world in front of us, a future of hopes and dreams to live and yet, we lost one of our friends this morning.  Cameron was on his way to school.  He was running a little late and apparently speeding.  Most of the roads around here are just two lane roads and he was trying to pass a farmer on his tractor.  This tractor was one of those huge tractors and Cameron must not have seen the truck coming in the other direction.  They hit head on.  If Cameron would have had his seat belt on, he might still be with us but he didn’t.  They air lifted him to Duke Medical center but he was already gone when they got him there. 

   Cameron was the type of guy that made everyone feel like they were his best friend.  He made you feel special, feel valued in his life.  What a terrible loss for us all.  Why is it that it seems the good guys are the ones who fall young?  My heart goes out to his family because he is their only son.  Just to let you know how special and caring he is………or was, he’s an organ donor.  Even now, he is going to make several people feel they are very special and valued.  I just hope they get the chance to know what a wonderful young man it was that helped save their lives.  We will miss you so much Cameron but I find some peace in knowing that a part of you still lives.

   I am so sick of these darn  ’jocks’ walking through the halls of school like they own it.  I’m a cheerleader and I’m not considered an athlete.  Well I have news for them, I’m just as much an athlete as they are. Have you ever seen some of the routines we have to do?  It’s not just ‘Lean to the left, Lean to the right’ anymore.  One of the girls on the squad broke her arm when she landed wrong after being thrown in the air by two of our other girls.  She was supposed to do a back flip and land on her feet but didn’t quite make it and broke her arm.  We have sprained just about anything and everything that can be sprained and yet we are treated like just arm candy or decorations to these big boys on campus.   I’m sick of it.  What really burns me up is we have to maintain at least a ‘B’ average and if we get in any trouble at school, we’re off the squad.  The guys, they get handed a passing grade even if they don’t deserve it and just watch the coach come running if they get into trouble.  You would think the old double standard would have gone away long ago but it hasn’t unfortunately.