“There are givers and takers in this world, and you need to decide who you're gonna be. I’m a giver, and you’re a giver. Sometimes be a taker; don’t let the world take advantage of you. So be a cautious giver, be a wise giver.” These had been my mother’s words to live by. A light breeze wafted in from the cul-de-sac outside through a slightly opened window. The aroma of a cookout filled the dining room as Diet Coke sizzled. I sit down at the dining table in the strange mismatched dining chair set. My mother then sits across the table corner from me. We had just arrived home from church on this perfect Sunday afternoon. Diana had dressed accordingly, a floral dress with black leggings and accompanied …show more content…
She was in the drama club, she was on the forensics team “Forensics is the speech and drama team. So I did the plays at school and the competitions.” she explained. She was also a part of FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America). I would never have imagined Diana as a business lady, so I wondered why she joined. “I joined partly because my sister, Amy Jo, had done it. So they asked me to be a part of it,” she recalled. Other than extracurriculars, Diana spent time with friends, most of which, came from the drama club. “My friends were mostly from drama and forensics club. The Aklies, the Barlows, and some of my brother's friends. We were all in the drama club together, boys and girls, we all had a really fun time together.. We weren’t the most famous or popular but we were good kids, not troublemakers, and we were all pretty carefree. I also became good friends with the exchange students.” She remembered cheerily, smiling, and thinking about the good times. Diana told me she’s still in touch with some of her high school friends today. She’s not particularly close to any of them like she was before, except for one, Jeff Barlow. “...one of the guys that was in the friend group goes to our church, and he’s in my small group. I see him all the time,” she told me. Diana worked throughout her high school years as well. She babysat, worked at a cotton candy stand at the flea market, and then worked at the …show more content…
In Junior year, she met the 1st love of her life, Matt, a Senior. She told me they had been friends before they started dating. They went to prom together, went to the movies together, went to Kings Island together, and other typical dating stuff. “He was the first and last boy who ever broke up with me,” she revealed. Matt broke up with Diana before her Senior year started. He was going off to college and felt like he needed a clean slate. Looking back, Diana thinks it was for the best. “I was really heartbroken for the 1st half of my Senior year. I was a little depressed I think. There was a clear difference.… Then I got it together, after Christmas time. I got in a band, I played the tambourine and sang backup, we even won 1st place at the Talent Show.” she smiled, remembering back to that magical moment. Diana thinks that experiencing that relationship and the breakup that followed, while sad, was important. Diana learned to be more cautious and to guard her heart a little more.
Diana thinks that a “coming of age moment” is an event in which you are forced to be more grown-up. Her first car crash was definitely one of those moments. “I had a bad car accident in my senior year. I was driving to babysit for someone, on Camp Ernst road, and the car flipped. I was actually fine at the time, but that really did rattle me, as far as a driver. Made me feel very vulnerable, and made me more