Letter 7 - Mikayla Farris

This is the seventh story of the book.

     Inspired by Coby Persin's YouTube Videos The Dangers of Social Media

My name is Mikayla Farris. I am a fourteen-year-old Caucasian girl from Memphis, Tennessee. I lived there in a yellow three-bedroom house in Uptown with my parents and younger sister. My mother Priscilla worked as a concierge at a hotel on North Third Street while my father Jason worked as a high school gym teacher at the North Uptown Middle School where I attended. At school, I would sometimes feel discouraged by the other girls who made fun of me as they walked through the halls with their boyfriends. My friend, African American Anne Michaelis always stepped in to help me feel better from the discouragement. “Mikayla don't let it get to you. They're not better than you because they have a boyfriend. No one is.” Anna said. “Thanks Anne. I understand now.” I spoke.
          At home even though I did have a family to depend on, I still felt a sense of loneliness in my heart. So, I tried to look for companionship online through social media. On nights when everyone's sleeping, I went on the computer in the living room to chat with guys. I became good friends on social media with a Caucasian boy named Marvin Pearson. The moment I saw the boy's picture, I believed that I was attracted to him. “Hello there. How are you doing?” Marvin said. “Hi. I am okay.” I spoke. “It's so nice to meet you on here.” Marvin said. “It's so nice to meet you too. I don't have that many friends, so I like to get to know you.” I spoke. “Great. I like to do the same thing.” Marvin said.
         Three weeks have passed ever since I began chatting with Marvin. Because I didn't want to make anyone feel worried about what was going on, I kept what I was doing a secret from everyone I knew, even my parents. I never believed that what I was doing was wrong even though I been told many times growing up not to talk to strangers. I did all I could to keep track with every other part of my life including my studies and going to places with Anne. I became completely focused on Marvin and the words that he spoke to me online. I felt like I was deeply in love with him. Because of that love, we shared our personal phone numbers with each other. I never felt awkward because I was mostly communicating on phone by texting. Deep down in my heart, I wanted to risk so much having a face-to-face meeting with Marvin, so we planned to meet at a bus stop in the North End. “So, this Saturday we can meet at the bus stop?” I spoke. “Yes. I sure can do that.” Marvin said. “Thanks Marvin. I can't wait to finally meet you.” I spoke. “Me too. I'll see you in a few days.” Marvin said.
         After three days of waiting and preparing, the meetup finally arrived. I smiled as I prepared for my meeting with Marvin. With the day being expected to be very warm, I dressed in a blue T-shirt along with my pair of black jeans and black sneakers. After getting dressed in my outfit and made sure my hair was straight, I took my phone and headed out to the bus stop. Two days prior to the date, I lied to my parents saying that I was going to go out to meet Anne to go to Winchester Park. When I got to the bus stop, I took out my phone to message Marvin. As I enjoyed the moment of texting my online boyfriend, I heard the distant yelling of my name by a familiar voice. Out of curiosity, I turned around and saw my father approaching me. “Dad?” said Mikayla. “Mikayla!! Do you have any idea what of you were doing?” Dad said. “No...?” I spoke. “Well, how about I help you.”  Dad said as he pulled out his phone and showed me the list of every text message I sent to Marvin for over three weeks. My excitement for a boyfriend turned into a matter of shock and confusion. “What?!! You mean?” I spoke. “Yes. You were messaging me the whole time. I did this to teach you a lesson. The lesson is that you don’t need a boyfriend. A relationship is just a supplement to a good life. You already have that with your mom, your sister and me.” Dad said. I tilted my head to face the ground and said, “I'm sorry.” Dad hugged me and said, “It's okay. Just make sure to never do this again.” An hour later back at home, I talked more about what happened with my parents. My phone was taken away and replaced with one that can only be used to call or text my parents. I learned a valuable lesson to never mess around on social media because there are people lurking around in that avenue to hurt children.