I picked Donna up at 7:15 p.m. to head to the Bengals game, and we caught up on the drive. She recently started part-time school while still managing at Jimmy John's. Even though she’s working a lot, she mentioned having a couple of weeks off as school starts.

During our conversation, Donna shared that her mom’s boyfriend had become aggressive with her, leading her to call the cops. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do anything since he’s on the lease, meaning she would be the one to leave. I’ve noticed that Donna tends to exaggerate or make things up sometimes, so I usually take what she says with a grain of salt.

We had a great time at the game. I bought some food for us to share, and we enjoyed the night. On the way back, Donna brought up her mom’s boyfriend again, telling me how he cussed her and her mom out and even slammed a door on her foot. She said her mom doesn’t do anything to stop his abusive behavior, and she mentioned that he’s also on meth.

Donna expressed that she doesn’t want anything to do with her family anymore. She’s planning to move out and try to get emancipated. She believes she can do this at 16 if she gets a signature from her mom saying she’s capable of living on her own. Her goal is to save up money and move out as soon as possible. She also wants to change her name, delete her social media accounts, and change her phone number to start fresh. She shared that her life has been full of trauma, and she’s looking for a way out. Donna feels like her entire family depends on her, and she’s the only one responsible enough to work.

Donna also expressed that I’m her only friend since she doesn’t have any others, which made me realize just how much she values our friendship. I told her I completely understand her desire to be independent and away from her family. Despite everything, it’s clear that she’s growing up quickly and wants a better life for herself. After dropping her off, I texted her to let her know I support her and that these are good goals to focus on. We’ve got plans to do something fun for her birthday and might go to a Reds game next week. I also invited her to come over to my house sometime, as I think she’d really like the area where I live.

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