Sissy, what are your favorite sports?

My favorite sports are cheerleading and basketball.

I love cheerleading because mommy did it when she was in high school. She also coached when Bruster was little, and when she was pregnant with you. I guess you could say that cheerleading is in our blood and I just can't resist it. I love being able to pump up a crowd by shouting out cheers and I love the reaction that I get from being a cheerleader. It's not just the hype, though. I can't explain why I love the heck out of it. I just do.

I love basketball because daddy did it in high school. He always taught me when I was growing up and he nurtured what little skill I did, and still do, have. I work hard and it helps me stay healthy, so I think that's definitely a bonus.

Sissy, what's the hardest part about high school?

I think the hardest part about high school for anyone is finding somewhere to fit in. I, personally, don't really fit into any group. I'm more of a straggler and I try to be nice to everyone. I've always been taught that it's better to be friends with everyone, and to be nice to everyone, instead of fitting in with one group and looking down on others.

I want you to remember that high school is only four short years of your life. There will be more afterwards just like there was more before. I don't want you to fret about who you are or what you're going to be because those are decisions that can be made later. If I was to give you any advice on high school, I would tell you to be yourself and be nice to everyone.

Sissy, how do you deal with crushes?

I think that I would be the WRONG person to ask about this topic. I honestly don't deal with crushes. I let them fester and grow until I can't stand it anymore, and then I find fault with the person whom I have a crush on. The crush will quickly fade until several months, or even years, later when it begins to rekindle and the vicious cycle begins all over again.

If you wanted advice about crushes, I'd probably make you rent a book from the library. That's how inept I am.

Sissy, what's one of your saddest memories?

One of my saddest memories involved the death of my classmate, Dylan. He died my sophomore year of high school in a car accident. He was driving down a dirt road outside of town where new gravel had recently been laid without his seat belt when he received a text message. He picked up his phone to text and crashed. There was nobody for quite a ways around because it was during lunch time in the middle of the day. It ended up that our football coach found him and his truck.

Dylan didn't die right away. He held on for a little while until he finally died and went to heaven. We were all completely devastated. I remember when I first found out, my friend Kaden told me that he had died and I was in utter shock. I just couldn't believe that someone my age had died. People my age weren't supposed to die, even if it was a freak accident like Dylan's.

I remember going to Dylan's funeral. It was open-casket and looking at Dylan's lifeless body lying there in that coffin in his football jersey and jeans, it was like you were watching him sleep on the floor of our history teacher's room on a game day. It was completely unreal. As we entered the church, he was the first thing you saw, but then throughout the room were tables set up to show who Dylan really was. I just remember learning a lot about Dylan that I didn't know. I always thought Dylan was a shallow kid at my school that was one of the popular boys that didn't really pay attention to me because I was beneath him. What I found out is that he's almost exactly like bubba. He was athletic and good at every sport imaginable.

Reading the letter to Dylan from his family on the back of the funeral program was enough to make me tear up because it was like I was reading a letter written from me to Bruster, a letter that was never to be read by the dead boy in the casket in the entrance of the church. When the service began, I was able to hold on for a little bit while we sang the opening hymn. But as soon as they brought Dylan's casket in, followed by his family, I fell apart. I remember watching his mom come into the sanctuary, practically being carried by his family members because she was completely broken. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was like watching a woman falling apart at the seams. I can't even describe how awful I felt when I watched her being torn apart like that. I bawled and bawled throughout the service, unable to stop my tears from flowing, even though I never knew Dylan that well.

I'll never forget you Dylan.

Dylan Soukup, 2010

Sissy, what's your favorite band?

I don't have one single favorite band. My music preference actually depends on my attitude and my mood that particular day. If I'm in a grumpier mood, or feeling tough, I like to listen to Stone Temple Pilots because there is just something about how raw the singer's voice is that drags my tough persona out. When I'm feeling in pop-y moods, I like to listen to something soft like Rihanna or Justin Bieber because their songs are usually shallow songs about senseless sex (Rihanna) or corny little love (Justin Bieber). When I feel like dancing my butt off with you and being all goofy, we listen to Cody Simpson because he's a Justin Bieber knock-off that's just so much fun to jump around to.

Music is really an expression of the soul, or that's at least what I've always felt. Music can be affected by mood and mood affects music. Since I am a very moody person and feel things deeper than other people (or at least this is what I've come to notice), it's easier for me to notice this than a normal person would. I think you will be the same way because of how I've noticed you conduct yourself in these last six, almost seven, years.

Sissy, what's your favorite holiday?

My favorite holiday is Christmas. 

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A lot of people think that Christmas is my favorite holiday because I get presents and lots of new stuff. That actually isn't why I love Christmas at all. I love Christmas because it's a time when everybody feels happier and more giving towards one another.

It's a time when the popular girls at my school pick on everybody less, and the jocks spend less time worrying about every minute detail of the girls they love to scrutinize. It's a time when families come together to share meals and laugh about old memories, passing down stories to the next generation of children. It's a time to watch your little face brighten up as I hand you your Christmas gift and you look at me like you're so grateful to me.

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Christmas is about Christmas lights, candy canes, snow, ice cold weather, basketball, parties, laughter, games, the smell of food, the smell of cookies... Christmas is about everything and everyone coming together in perfect harmony.

Sissy, tell me about your closest friend during childhood?

My closest friend during my childhood was a girl named Brittany Jo Clancy. She and I went to daycare together when mommy was working at a law firm in the city and daddy was working as a traveling oil driller. She and I did EVERYTHING together. We played together, we talked together, we laughed together, and we ate together. There was never a time during the day that we were separated because we were that good of friends.

Sadly, Brittany and I have lost touch over the years because we grew up and began school. She lives in the city still and we live in the small town, therefore we go to different schools. Someday I hope to be able to see her again because it'd be fun to share old memories and laugh at who we were when we were kids.

I hope that you find friends that are half as good as Brittany was to me when I was little.