In my junior year at LCCTC, I remember sitting in CP English discussing how stories affect our lives. Health Assistant, Jeralynn DeNome, was the first brave soul to stand up and share her read, Demi Lovato’s #1 New York Times best-seller Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year.
“This book has affected me in every positive aspect of my life today,” Jeri claimed as tears worked their way out of her eyes and down her cheeks. I’ll never forget her story, as our tears joined hers, feeling the frustration of how someone so seemingly happy and innocent could be so wrongly treated.
On the inside cover of Staying Strong, you'll find a quote stating: “Be grateful for your journey because it's yours alone.” That day in class, we were all pleased to exclaim that Jeri is no longer alone.
On May 8th 2014, the morning before her induction to National Vocational Technical Honor Society, Jeralynn posted her journey on Facebook. Here is an excerpt:
I would just like to thank all the people who never thought I could be someone some day or never could make it to fulfill my dreams. I just want to thank you for not believing in me telling me, “You’re nothing,” because guess what -- your words inspired me to try even harder to fulfill those dreams and prove you wrong. Being inducted into National Technical Honor Society is my life-long dream! So I hope all of those people see this because I proved every one of them wrong! Thank you to everyone who is proud of my accomplishments! I am so excited for today!
It’s impossible to come to terms with how Jeri smiles everyday even though she went through so much to get to this point in her life, but the reality is: She has!
Inspired by Jeri, I read Demi Lovato’s book, too. Now I can see the need to read with a tissue. Every page starts with a quote and goes on to share how that quote relates to her life; she inspires her readers to do the same in their everyday lives.
When I marked pages in the book, just as Jeri did, the words on the page resonated to me as emotional or showed importance. For example, on March 4th, I marked a quote that hit me like a ton of bricks: “Trust is a bond between two people that is found only when they are able to listen and understand where the other person is coming from. That to me is the key to friendships and relationships.” This has helped me realize that people have different backgrounds and make mistakes but I now understand that I have to learn to accept others for who they are.
Jeri states that “Demi’s book has helped me approach situations with a different mind set.” I couldn’t agree more.
I hope that everyone, no matter the circumstance, read and understand the words Lavato is trying to convey and relate them to his or her own life.
The bigger picture out there is that there is people out there who care, there is always an answer or help, and people exist who love with all their hearts. Jeri DeNome is just one of them, and so am I.
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"The only thing you should look back on is to see how far you've come!"
Kylie Smith, a senior Health Assistant student, plans to continue her education at Youngstown State University for Nursing. Currently, she works as a sandwich artist at Subway. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her dogs and watching her little brother play hockey.
