This Hit Far To Close To Home!
Original air date: 11/28/12. Mary Jo was a 45-year-old special education teacher in a rural town in Pennsylvania when her life was rocked by teen pregnancy and the “sexting” epidemic all at once. With the District Attorney threatening to charge her pregnant 14-year-old daughter as a pornographer, Mary Jo risks her career and her family’s reputation and fights back.
I’m sure everyone remembers the “SEXTING” scandal that broke loose a few years ago, probably not the name of the town that initiated the whole thing but “sexting” is now a well known term in our vocabulary. Most don’t know I hail from that small ass town and know all to well the reality of being young with not much to do. It’s not often that I tell my story here – but I feel the need today, because a friend of mine is being scrutinized for telling the truth. I moved to that small ass town when I was 13 and was embraced with OPEN arms, though I hated it and rebelled. My parents were leasing a bar while I was in school and we lived there, I’m just simply going to say that I was surrounded by alcohol and drugs day in and day out. I surrounded myself with friends who were “just like me” with the exception of ONE. The rest of us were not afraid to get wasted, toke up, take pills or snort something. It was a free for all what ever your poison was you did it. I’m not going to say that there was NOTHING else to do in town, because there are a few who come out unscathed – but we can probably chalk that up to parenting. There are sports teams that do great, and clubs that take up time, but lets be honest with ourselves for a minute it wasn’t all about school while we were there, and for most kids it isn’t. I’m astonished to see the outcry from people that were not angels in school that now claim to be, its a funny thing to even lie to yourself – the truth comes out eventually whether you want it to or not. Just be the bigger person and admit your shortcomings and that you’ve learned and grown from them as a person, I know I have. I managed to move out of that town, I barely looked back and now I am proud to say I came from there I made my mistakes and I dealt with them accordingly. And to those that think this “ruined” your towns image please remember State College, a town rocked by a real tragedy being told the truth about your town is not wrecking the image it paints a clearer picture.
