BY SARAH POGUE It was a big day for junior Anthony Galavotti—his varsity baseball team was play- ing one of their biggest games at home, and he was starting in the outfield. He walked through the halls of Highland High School in Colorado with his teammates, but all he could think about was the fight his parents had gotten into the night before. Throughout the day, Galavotti’s teammates encouraged him to be excited about the game instead of worrying about his parents, but he couldn’t seem to shake the hurt and anger he felt toward them. When it was time to warm up for the game, Galavotti looked over toward his house and saw a U-Haul in his driveway. He knew his parents were splitting up and his dad would be moving out, but he had no idea it would be that day. Galavotti was up to bat in the first inning, and he decided to channel all of his anger to- ward his parents into the game. He hit a triple and eventually scored a run. With a smile on his face, he headed back into the outfield when the inning was over. Galavotti looked toward the bleachers where he anticipated his father being, but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him call out his name. “Anthony!” Galavotti turned around to see his father by his truck in the parking lot, wav- ing goodbye to him. Galavotti waved back, not knowing that he wouldn’t see his father for another three months. “I was devastated,” Galavotti said. “I wasn’t sure what to think. I thought maybe he was just going to drop off some stuff and come back, but he never came back.” Divorce is difficult for any teenager to handle. Many times, teenagers feel grief and anger for years after their parents’ separation. “The kids are usually angry with one parent or both,” guidance counselor Becky O’Malley said. “It’s a hard transition for them [the kids] when everyone’s not all to- gether all the time anymore. They spend some time at mom’s then some at dad’s, and there can be a lot of issues with that.” If a divorce or separation happens when the children are young, the effects are usually more mild. Senior Amber Kunkel’s parents have been separated since she was two or three years old. “I don’t remember them splitting up,” Kunkel said. “It’s just always been this way, so I don’t really think about it.” Even though Kunkel is used to her parents being separated, she said it is still hard to accept the fact that her family will “never really be whole again.” Athletic director Andy Timm had concerns for his children when he and his ex-wife decided to get a divorce in December of 2011. At first, Timm said he was “scared and lonely”, but over time he got used to being single and his relationship with his kids and his ex-wife has only become stronger. “My ex-wife and I actually communicate a lot better than we did in the last few years of marriage,” Timm said. “We’re really good friends now, and we’re there for our kids. I think we put a positive spin on a negative situ- ation.” Social studies teacher Lyle Mead also said that he and his ex-wife get along well and cooperate when it comes to raising their son, Hudson. “We’re both there for things like birthdays and school stuff,” Mead said. “If he has a sporting event or something, we’re both there together supporting him.” Although these two situations had happy endings for both the parents and the children, neither one started out being a walk in the park. “I was so unsure of the future when it [the divorce] happened,” Timm said. “I was questioning if what I did was right for myself and my kids. It was the toughest part for sure.” The more time passed, the more Timm got used to his new life. “It’s a major adjustment for both parents and children,” O’Malley said. “Time usually heals all wounds, so the kids just have to be patient and understand that it’s for the best and the parents still love them no matter what.” BY MADDIE EGR One of the hardest things to do is say goodbye to a loved one. The grief and heart- ache one can feel is overwhelming. Senior Colin Embree has felt a great amount of grief recently and throughout his life. Embree’s grandfather passed away on Oct. 18 from pneumonia. He had battled lung cancer for years. Embree said that he saw his grandfather every holiday, and that it hasn’t completely hit him yet because today is “just another day”. When Thanksgiving and Christmas come around this winter, he said it’ll be extremely hard for him to grasp and deal with. “My grandpa and I talked on the phone all the time,” Embree said, “and he was doing completely fine last time I had talked to him.” But Embree received a call on the morn- ing of Oct. 17 saying that his grandfather wasn’t doing well. Embree had plans to drive to Des Moines, Iowa, after school Friday to go see him. By the time Embree had completed the school day on Friday, however, his grandfather had died. “You always have that one family mem- ber that’s always cracking jokes,” Embree said. “My grandpa was that guy. Holidays won’t be as fun without him.” When Embree attended the funeral on Oct. 22, it was difficult for him. “I don’t like to show my emotions. I stuck it out at the funeral, but I’m not going to lie, I cried when I was alone afterwards,” Embree said. “I had to be strong. My little sister and mom were there. I had to try and take some of the grief off of them, so I couldn’t let them see me cry.” Aside from losing his grandfather, Em- bree lost his father to suicide when he was four years old. “I just try to remember the happy memo- ries with them [his father and grandfather], rather than their last few days,” Embree said. Freshmen Tyler Henkel and Allan Cramblitt have also faced a grandparent recently dying. Henkel’s great grandmother died in August. “I just didn’t want to talk about it,” Henkel said. “Whenever my parents started talking about it, I would just walk away.” Henkel used to spend a week with his great grandmother every summer. They would look through old antiques and she would tell him old family stories. Cramblitt’s grandmother passed this summer. “It was a long time coming,” Cramblitt said. “She had been diagnosed with cancer about a year before she passed. We were surprised she lived as long as she did.” The cancer made Cramblitt’s grand- mother very skinny and she slept all the time. Cramblitt said that “she just wasn’t herself”. He didn’t want to see her suffer much longer. “I was relieved and happy more than anything,” Cramblitt said. People handle grief differently. Some shut it completely out and have a hard time working through it, while others let it com- pletely stop their lives. “I think that when people my age are dealing with grief,” Cramblitt said, “it can affect their school work and focus.” Families are affected by divorce Students grieve over losing loved ones Family dynamics are changed by death