I was stuck on a hook for days until I was saved. I couldn’t do anything but watch crowds and crowds of people go by; laughing, eating funnel cake and simply just being free to move about. I watched as friends of mine on the hooks around me were given to random strangers and taken away. I didn’t know if I would be next or if I was doomed to spend the rest of my life hanging by my sweatshirt. Then one day, a little girl came squealing up to the stall I was held captive in and wouldn’t stop staring at me. While I normally have felt unsafe when one of these strangers would stare at me, I knew that she wouldn’t hurt me.
My captor went up to her and told her if she popped three balloons she could pick any “toy” she wanted. He always called us toys and that was hurtful but I am over it now. The little girl gave her all into each throw of the dart towards the wall of balloons. She hit all three that she aimed at and when it came time to pick which one of us she wanted, she chose me. That day, she took me to her grandma’s house and we have been best friends ever since.
Anywhere she went she brought me with her and that never changed because when she was due to set off to college, she brought me with her. I got to see her change for the better and find out who she wanted to be and do for the rest of her life.
The biggest change I got to witness was her major change halfway through her sophomore year from Criminal Justice to a double major in Media Arts: Film and Television, and Strategic Communications, Public Relations, and Advertising.
Ever since a young age, she was obsessed with serial killers and wanted to work in the FBI. It was pretty scary…I mean it…I love her but it was borderline psychotic. That job would have eaten her alive and turned her into something she is not. So when she changed majors, I was overjoyed. For as long as I can remember, she has loved to read. It started with Harry Potter and has progressed to a love of romance/contemporary novels. When she switched majors, she not only made a practical choice, but also chose something that I know will make her happy. Her true dream, which is something I think she has known for a long time – to work in book publishing on the media side.
Even though she switched majors her sophomore year, she somehow managed to graduate a whole year early. I can tell she’s scared, she does not think she’s ready to enter the “real” world as I have heard her call it and maybe she is right but I am not worried. I have been there for it all, the good times and the really bad times. I have watched her grow, prosper and do things she never thought she would be doing. She has great friends, a great support system and her whole life ahead of her.
Fear can keep you from the best things in life and I know that once she jumps over that fear she will find her way. She just needs to take that leap and when she does, I’ll be right there with her. Some may think I am just a bear wearing merch from the greatest band out there, One Direction for those lame-o’s that do not know, but I am much more than that. I am a member of the family and on May 14th, I will be the proudest bear out there.
