Drew's Diaries

I'm Actually Being Listened To

Dear Diary,

Today was day 14 of this adventure, and it's been a huge rollercoaster, I tell you. We've been told that the remaining campers will be merging tomorrow, but one of them will be going home tomorrow night. 

The eight campers theater are remaining, in alphabetical order, are as follows:

Alec

Ellie

Fiore

Gabby

Grett

Jake

Miriam

Tom

And then there's the rest of us in elimination order:

Will

Drew (Me)

Nick

Lill

Ashley

Dan

By the way, learning alphabetical order in spelling class back in elementary school was very useful. Thanks to all the teachers that helped me learn and learn more about it! You deserve more recognition, certainly!

Today, my ENTIRE day was spent relaxing, playing games, eating snacks, hanging out with Dan, finishing our catch up at camp and at the motel, and getting to know each other better. I'd say he's a really good kid once you get to know him. And he LOVES numbers, he's easy to quiz math on.

At one point in our conversation, Dan mentioned his parents and how they got divorced when he was 13. It made me wonder what is mine got divorced two years ago...would we never go on vacation, all three of us together, ever again? If my parents divorce, I really hope it's after I graduate college, specifically after I turn 24 in 9 years. 

I decided to write about my life. I traveled with my parents around Europe a lot, sometimes other places in the world. Those places has grown to accept me and my difference on communication by writing. It's relieving to me to see diversity have so much more inclusion than it ever has before. 

Dan watched as I wrote every word I could think about, telling my story from the heart and when I finished, he read it, and he started to tear up, saying, "Wow! You're so lucky to be able to travel with your parents! It's unfortunate mine weren't able to do the same. My sister and I live with our mom still, and it's been hard because ever since we turned 18 last year, it's been rough."

"Wow, so you and your sister are twins. I guess that means you're the lucky one." I wrote.

"What do you mean?"

"When I wasn't at school or traveling with my parents. I felt lonely, because I didn't have a playmate. But you have a sister, a TWIN sister, your bond must be unbreakable, despite a ton of fights, I'm assuming."

"Oh yeah, Frannie and I fight a lot. But fights aside, I do adore having her, we helped each other through our parent's divorce, and even before when we heard them screaming and fighting, she always came to my room and we'd play video games to try to ignore the situation. It was hard, but we've been used to it. Although, now we're in college and plan to move out of mom's house within the next few years, and I think if we ever get married and have our own children, we could be a family in a two family household, with my family in it and Frannie's family in it, too."

"I'm not sure what my future will hold just yet, as I'm only a rising sophomore in high school." I wrote back. "However, I do like the idea of having a family of my own, because I could finally have people to talk to, maybe fight with when it happens for whatever reason, yeah...that's a complicated topic for me."

"No worries, it's fine." Dan said.

Then we moved on and continued talking until we both fell asleep in the middle of a game's wrestling match. 

It's currently 1am and I forgot to write in you, well, now yesterday, soooo....yeah. 

I like that someone at this camp actually cares for my words, writing or not, it feels like listening to me. 

Well, tonight is the night someone else is joining us...the fifteenth day is on the horizon.

I really hope it's another friend. No offense to Dan, but, I think I've learned all I need to know about him for one day.

Your friend, 

Drew