My Problem

Fifteen-year-old Donna Jo “DJ” Tanner was in her bedroom, thinking over the events of the day. That evening, her father Danny had taken DJ, her sisters, ten-year-old Stephanie and five-year-old Michelle and his best friend Joey Gladstone, out for what he referred to as “Tanner Family Fun Night”. DJ had wanted burgers; for Joey, it was pizza. Stephanie preferred tacos, and Michelle had a craving for chocolate cake.

However, much to the family’s surprise (and DJ’s displeasure), Danny had taken them to a family restaurant where the theme was pirates, and the food that was served there was seafood, and it was barely edible. To make matters worse, DJ’s classmate Shelly Phillips had also come to the restaurant. She had spotted DJ and pointed her out to the guys that were with her and whispering at the same time.

“Are my friends looking at me?” DJ asked fearfully.

“DJ,” said Danny, “nobody is looking at you.” He looked over at Shelly Phillips and her friends, who were indeed looking at DJ and her family. Shelly was pointing at them and whispering while smiling also. DJ noticed this as well, and groaned in embarrassment.

“Can I wait in the car?” she asked.

“Honey,” Danny replied, “there is no fun happening in the car. All the fun is right here.” As he spoke the last few words, he gestured to the table.

Finally, as if the night wasn’t embarrassing enough for DJ, Shelly had come over to the table where she and her family were. Then, she gleefully told DJ that she and the guys who had accompanied her thought it would be quite funny for them to, in Shelly’s words, “come goof on” all the “lame” families that had come to the restaurant. DJ, in an attempt to sound cool, calm and collected, had said that she and her family had come for the exact same reason. However, Michelle corrected DJ, saying it was Tanner Family Fun Night.

Shelly giggled. “I got to tell the guys this one,” she said before turning and heading back to her table.

The instant Shelly had left, the “cool” and “fun-loving” smile that DJ pasted on her face fell away, and the look of humiliation that had been there previously soon returned. “And I’ve got to find a new school,” she moaned as she held her hand to her head in embarrassment.

Those moments still fresh in her mind, DJ opened her diary, and began to write...

“Dear Diary,
I don’t know how to tell you this, but I feel as though my life is over. Dad took us to a pirate-themed family restaurant for, as he put it, Tanner Family Fun Night. I felt so embarrassed the minute we got there. I had wanted a burger to eat, and a burger sure sounded good. However, the only food they served there was seafood. I couldn’t believe it.

“Then, to make matters worse, my classmate Shelly Phillips showed up. I did do my best to be calm, collected and cool, although I was burning with shame and humiliation on the inside. It really was quite a conflict for me. The minute Shelly had left for her own table, I remarked that I knew I had to transfer to a new and better school – one where I wouldn’t get embarrassed all the time, hopefully, and where I knew I could concentrate on my studies as well.

“But I don’t think Dad will go for that, though. He would probably just tell me that they were trying to get a rise out of me, and that I should just hold my head high, turn my back on them and pretend they weren’t even there.

“Oh, well. I guess I’ll just have to do the best I can, especially with the humiliation that might come at school on Monday.”

After DJ stopped writing, she looked at the words she had written, and decided that she would just have to make the best of it. After all, she knew she wasn’t the only one who often got embarrassed. Others did as well.