I don’t want to disappoint my mother

Dear Pastor, This is the first time I’m writing you. I am 16 years old.

When I was about six years old, my family told me that my daddy died, and his death was caused by the covering of his heart by fat. They only told me that his name was Mr T and that he lived in Jacks Hill, St Andrew. I really took it hard. I cried a lot knowing that I did not have any man to call ‘Daddy’.

When I started high school, I got good grades and caused my mother to be proud of me until the last part of grade eight. The years following, my grades were really bad. My mother, who is living in the United States, was very upset with me.

Now that I am in my last year of school, I am to do my subjects, but I don’t know what I am going to do on these papers. I don’t want to disappoint my mother anymore, and I don’t want her to waste her money to pay for them. Pastor, please I am asking for your advice. J. S. Dear J. S. Evidently, you have serious problems that you have not divulged. It would have been good if you had mentioned with whom you are living. And why do you believe that you lost interest in your schoolwork? Evidently, you have not been working hard or studying, and you have interest elsewhere. Your mother is living abroad. I wonder how long she has been living there and what type of relationship both of you have. Your concern is legitimate. You know that you have been playing around and not studying, and you feel like it is almost a waste of time for your mother to pay for you to sit your examinations.

However, what I would beg you to do is to buckle down. You still have time to catch up, so to speak, and to do your very best in the examinations.

Do not tell your mother that she ought not to pay for you to do the subjects. If you are a party animal, take a break from that and beat the books. If your boyfriend takes up lots of your time, cut that out. Whatever you are doing that is preventing you from spending enough time on your studies, spend less time in that area and increase your study time.

Pastor