The Summers We Were Sixteen: Page

Thanks to Christi for asking us to do this. I'm actually going to do two summers, because they relate to each other. The summers that I was fifteen and sixteen. This might be a little long...

My birthday is in November, so I had a whole two-thirds of the school year to be fifteen before I went from junior high (9th grade in AZ at the time) to high school. I'd made the top choir and the JV Cheer squad, and I was so excited to finally be moving up in the world.

Unfortunately, I had a difficult choice to make that year as well. My church had scheduled Girl's Camp the same week as Cheer Camp. Long story short: I chose Cheer Camp.

Wrong choice.

I won't say I didn't have fun, because I did. I learned a lot, and thought I'd made some good friends. The girls on my squad were nice to me, and I was good at everything we did. But the challenge came when I realized that my new "friends'" bad language was rubbing off on me.

I'd never made a habit of swear words. I'd said them in the past, but only once, and only behind the staircase at my elementary school to prove that I *could* but I didn't ever *want* to. The more I hung out with these girls on my squad, the more these words drove themselves into my brain.

Eventually, school started and I was basically swearing. Not constantly, and definitely not at home or in writing or to anyone I knew it would offend, but the words came out of their own accord. The devil on my shoulder was proud of me, and the angel on the other hung her head in shame.

By the time the cheer squad did the first football game and pep rally, I'd come to the conclusion than none of the girls on my squad even really liked me. Not only that, but cheering had a negative effect on my singing voice, and choir was definitely my top priority at the time. So I quit the squad. Soon after that, I realized that I'd dug myself into a bad hole, and that hole was full of swear words.

I remember standing on the steps of my high school waiting for my mom to come pick me up, and something happened that made me utter a curse under my breath. I was completely alone, and (to be a little religious for a second) the Spirit hit me hard, telling me that swearing wasn't the way for me, and I needed to stop. So, I made a conscious effort to stop. A habit like that is hard to break and it took a long time, but I did it.

Then, the summer I was sixteen I was able to go to Girl's Camp with my church. I was also able to attend a program called EFY (Especially For Youth) that members of my church put on each year. It was a whole week of spiritual talks, songs, games, study, and celebration. I met cute boys, made new friends, and had one of the most spiritual moments of my life that I still treasure to this day.

I learned from both summers, about myself and my life. And lessons like those stick with you.

-Page/Darci