“I’d just turned twelve. I think Dad realized that I needed...

“I’d just turned twelve.  I think Dad realized that I needed somebody in my life.  He was working two jobs so I never had anyone to talk to.  Mom wasn’t around.  Middle school was a complete disaster. I had no friends and was getting bullied tons.  Then one day I came home from school, and Dad was home, which was shocking, because he normally worked until 9 pm.  And he introduced me to this guy.  I had no clue who he was.  He said his name was Adam, and that he was my ‘Big Brother,’ and he was going to help me.  But I had no clue what that meant.  I just thought it was a friend of my dad’s or something.  We were only supposed to meet two times a month.  But it ended up being more like three times a week.  He helped me study.  I could call him whenever I felt sad.  And he helped me with my anger outbursts.  Whenever I was having a bad day, we’d go to a bridge near his house and throw a bunch of rocks in the creek.  He helped me so much over the years.  Even after he moved to New York, I was able to do the last two years of high school by myself.  He promised me that if I graduated with all B’s, he’d fly me up to New York for a visit.  Well I did better than that.  I graduated with all A’s and B’s.”