Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff (32 page)

My dad tells us he's been laid off from work—straight out with no beating around the bush. I can't say I'm shocked; we all saw the writing on the wall. Dad's a textile man, and the industry is dying. I know this because I've heard the hushed conversations between my mom and dad. With most labor now going overseas, there's just not enough work to keep the U.S. sewing factories alive. It's not as if Dad has a profession where he can just slip comfortably into a new opportunity. Finding another job at forty-six years old is rough.

Mikey just keeps sucking down his cookies. He's too young to understand that there is no magic that will make everything better, and that Dad doesn't have all the answers.

In between frantic thoughts, I hear Dad saying something about our home; using words like “scaling down” and “tightening belts.” All I keep wondering is,
How is this
going to affect me? Will I still be able to afford to go to the movies
with my friends, or will I be left at home? And where will my
home be?
I hear Dad saying something about our horrendous taxes and the possibility of moving to a smaller apartment.

I want to grab him and yell, “Stop! Don't you know you're ruining my life? I can't move . . . this is where all my friends are . . . this is where I go to school. We had a deal, remember? You would take care of me, and I would never have to worry about these kinds of things, because I'm just a kid.”

And then this feeling gives way to a sickening rush of guilt for being so selfish. I look over at my parents who seem small and vulnerable. Who are these pathetic imposters whose words change everything for all of us, and how should I react to these strangers that I love so much? Should I lie and tell them everything will be okay? And is that what they need to hear, or is that really what
I
need to hear? I suddenly feel like the parent.

That night I run out to play tag with all those kids whose lives are still unchanged. I run through the night hoping to knock the wind out of myself—running to forget about my dad or maybe to stumble onto an answer that will save us. That's when Carly's arm reaches out to grab me. She kisses me, and I forget for one moment about all the uncertainty.

Then she's gone, and I lay there in the pitch-black darkness with my head spinning the same way it did when I rolled down those long summer hills. I feel that same dizzying disorientation lying there alone in the darkness, and I realize that sometimes there are no real answers, and life goes on.

C. S. Dweck

Who Is Jack Canfield?

Jack Canfield is a bestselling author and one of America's leading experts in the development of human potential. He is both a dynamic and entertaining speaker and a highly sought-after trainer with a wonderful ability to inform and inspire audiences to open their hearts, love more openly and boldly pursue their dreams.

Jack spent his teenage years growing up in Martins Ferry, Ohio, and Wheeling, West Virginia, with his sister Kimberly (Kirberger) and his two brothers, Rick and Taylor. The whole family has spent most of their professional careers dedicated to educating, counseling and empowering teens. Jack admits to being shy and lacking self-confidence in high school, but through a lot of hard work he earned letters in three sports and graduated third in his class.

After graduating college, Jack taught high school in the inner city of Chicago and in Iowa. In recent years, Jack has expanded this to include adults in both educational and corporate settings.

He is the author and narrator of several bestselling audio- and videocassette programs. He is a regularly consulted expert for radio and television broadcasts and has published numerous books—all bestsellers within their categories—including more than twenty
Chicken Soup for the Soul
books,
The Aladdin Factor, Heart at Work, 100
Ways to Build Self-Concept in the Classroom
and
Dare to Win.

Jack addresses over one hundred groups each year. His clients include professional associations, school districts, government agencies, churches and corporations in all fifty states.

Jack conducts an annual eight-day Training of Trainers program in the areas of building self-esteem and achieving peak performance. It attracts educators, counselors, parenting trainers, corporate trainers, professional speakers, ministers and others interested in developing their speaking and seminar-leading skills in these areas.

For further information about Jack's books, tapes and trainings, or to schedule him for a presentation, please contact:

The Canfield Training Group
P.O. Box 30880 • Santa Barbara, CA 93130
phone: 800-237-8336 • fax: 805-563-2945
e-mail:
[email protected]
Web site:
www.chickensoup.com

Who Is Mark Victor Hansen?

Mark Victor Hansen is a professional speaker who, in the last twenty years, has made over four thousand presentations to more than two million people in thirty-three countries. His presentations cover sales excellence and strategies; personal empowerment and development; and how to triple your income and double your time off.

Mark has spent a lifetime dedicated to his mission of making a profound and positive difference in people's lives. Throughout his career, he has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to create a more powerful and purposeful future for themselves while stimulating the sale of billions of dollars worth of goods and services.

Mark is a prolific writer and has authored
Future Diary, How to
Achieve Total Prosperity
and
The Miracle of Tithing
. He is the coauthor of the
Chicken Soup for the Soul
series,
Dare to Win
and
The Aladdin Factor
(all with Jack Canfield) and
The Master Motivator
(with Joe Batten).

Mark has also produced a complete library of personal empowerment audio- and videocassette programs that have enabled his listeners to recognize and better use their innate abilities in their business and personal lives. His message has made him a popular television and radio personality with appearances on ABC, NBC, CBS, HBO, PBS, QVC and CNN.

He has also appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, including
Success, Entrepreneur
and
Changes
.

Mark is a big man with a heart and a spirit to match—an inspiration to all who seek to better themselves.

For further information about Mark, please contact:

Mark Victor Hansen & Associates
P.O. Box 7665
Newport Beach, CA 92658
phone: 949-759-9304 or 800-433-2314
fax: 949-722-6912
Web site:
www.chickensoup.com

Who Is Kimberly Kirberger?

Kimberly is an advocate for teens, a writer for teens, a mother of a teen, and a friend and confidante to the many teens in her life. She is committed to bettering the lives of teens around the globe through her books and the outreach she does for teens on behalf of her organization, Inspiration and Motivation for Teens, Inc.

Kim's love for teens was first expressed globally with the publication of the bestselling
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul
. This book was a true labor of love for Kim, and the result of years of friendship and research with teens from whom she learned what really matters. After the success of the first
Teenage Soul
book, and the outpouring of hundreds and thousands of letters and submissions from teens around the world, Kim went on to coauthor the
New York Times
#1 bestsellers
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II
and
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III,
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Journal, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul
Letters
and
Chicken Soup for the College Soul
. Kim's empathic understanding of the issues affecting parents led her to coauthor the recent release
Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul.

In October 1999, the first book in Kim's
Teen Love
series was released.
Teen Love: On Relationships
has since become a
New York Times
bestseller. Her friendship and collaboration with Colin Mortensen of MTV's
Real World Hawaii
produced the much-loved
Teen Love: A Journal
on Relationships
and
Teen Love: On Friendship.
She recently released
Teen
Love: A Journal on Friendship
.

Her nonprofit organization, Soup and Support for Teachers, is committed to teens and teachers having available to them inspiring and supportive reading materials.

When she is not reading letters she gets from teens, Kim is offering them support and encouragement in the forums on her Web site,
www.iam4teens.com
. She also enjoys nurturing her family, listening to her son's band and hanging out with her friends.

For information or to schedule Kim for a presentation, contact:

I.A.M. 4 Teens, Inc.
P.O. Box 936
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
e-mail for stories:
[email protected]
e-mail for letters and feedback:
[email protected]

Contributors

Lauren Anderson
is currently studying English and Women's Studies at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. She can be reached at
[email protected].

Christina “Chrissi” Angeles
is a high-school student in California. She finished chemotherapy and radiation in late 2000. “Lumps” was written to get everyone to live life to the fullest, because you never know when it will be gone. Chrissi can be reached at
[email protected].

Analise Antone
presently attends college as a soon-to-be English major. Her passions are reading, writing, psychology and all things performance-related. “Reaching Mom” was her first short story, as well as her first publication. She can be reached at
[email protected].

Natalie Atkins
is a college student in South Carolina. She is majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, and both works for and submits to her annual campus literary magazine. Her story is dedicated to Daniel, Ray and Kunkel.

Hilary Begleiter
is a high-school junior in Des Moines, Iowa. She wants to dedicate this poem to her grandfather, grandmother and Frank. She hopes it can help comfort those who have had to deal with the death of a loved one. You can reach her at
[email protected].

Rachael Bennett
is an aspiring poet in California. She has written for several private organizations and hopes one day to write a book on teenage depression. This particular piece has been dedicated to both of her mothers, as well as her dad. She can be reached at
[email protected].

Tiffany Blevins
is a seventeen-year-old full-time student and soon-to-be full-time mother from Springfield, Ohio, who enjoys writing poetry and short stories. She can be reached at
[email protected].

Iris M. Bolton
is the executive director of The Link Counseling Center's National Resource Center for Suicide Prevention and Aftercare (
www.thelink.org
). She is the cofounder of the North Atlanta, Georgia Chapter of the Compassionate Friends. She also founded the Survivors of Suicide Support Groups in metro Atlanta, and the S.O.S. Support Team, providing home visits to the bereaved. She authored
My Son . . . My Son, a Guide to Healing
After Death, Loss, or Suicide,
a book about the survival of her family in the aftermath of the suicide of her son. She is married to Jack Bolton and is the mother of four sons.

Jennifer Braunschweiger
is a writer living in New York City.

Danielle Collier
is a freelance writer and published fiction writer. She has a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her story is dedicated to her parents and brother. She can be reached at
[email protected].

Jessica Colman
is in the James Madison College at Michigan State University. She would like to dedicate “A Most Precious Gift” to her family, with special thanks to her brother, Zack, who has shared every aspect of their parents' divorce and without whom it wouldn't have been as easy. She can be reached at
[email protected].

Cheryl Costello-Forshey
is a writer whose poetry can be found in several of the
Chicken Soup for the Soul
books, as well as in the books,
Stories for a Teen's
Heart, Stories for a Faithful Heart
and
A Pleasant Place.
Cheryl can be reached at
[email protected].

Tiani Crocker
is a single mom who resides in Bellingham, Washington, with her son, Zion. She attends college part-time and works part-time. Her story is dedicated to her brother whose love inspired it.

Jennifer Dalrymple-Mozisek
lives in Dallas, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in English. Jennifer would like to dedicate “Our Song” to the memory of her mother, June Rae Dalrymple-Stanton, and to her father, Michael Anthony Mozisek. She can be reached via e-mail at
[email protected].

Heather Deederly
is a nineteen-year-old residing on Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada. She's taking a course on freelance writing, following her dream. She thanks God and the events in her life for her motivation. She also thanks her mother and sister for their encouragement to pursue her dreams, and her best friend and fiancé, Colin, for giving her strength, courage and always being there for her. She can be reached at
[email protected].