Dear Diary,

It is my Tenth birthday today, my mother bought me this diary so that I could write my inner-most thoughts in it. The harvest talent contest is in a few months and I am so nervous, I am practicing so hard that my throat starts to hurt. I really really hope that I will be able to sing like my mother by the time the talent contest comes around.

I swear my father hates me though, when I used to practice in the evenings he would shout at me and yell angrily. He kept saying that I was good for nothing and that I should quit trying to be like my mother and just shut up and be like everyone else. I really don't know why he hates me, but I hear him yell at my mother every night and usually the topic turns to me and he says bad words... especially when he drinks that awful ale stuff.

Why can't my family just be happy like everyone elses? Or are we doomed to be sad forever? I hope that my father will change and be happy soon.

Lilly