Emily

Emily was always overshadowed and protected by her twin brother. In second grade, they were separated for the first time when the school put them in two different classrooms. Emily really struggled. She was very shy and would get picked on for being so quiet. She had a teacher that yelled a lot and she hated school. Her father said they lived right across the parking lot from the school. He remembers watching her walk to school with her little lunchbox and backpack, head down, shoulders slumped-like she was going to her doom. It was a bad situation. Halfway through the semester, they transferred her into another class but it took a long time to get over that awful experience. School was never easy for her. It wasn’t until the 8th grade that her mom challenged her to get all A’s, and if she did she’d get an iPod. She did it and that success gave her the confidence she needed to be successful. On top of the shyness, Emily was bullied because of her weight, a lifelong struggle. She has now come to terms with who she is. Although the struggles were miserable, she learned to work hard and persevere and now she's reaping the dividends of those lessons learned. She has a hard time making friends because she is so shy. She has a very small circle of friends, but the friends she has are rock solid.