By Summer Crawford

Staff Writer

Junior Bobby Manning was working at Barnes & Noble in Lewisville when he got the call from his mother. It was July 27, 2013 when his father, Robert Manning, passed away.

From that moment on, Manning knew his life would never be the same.

“It was really sudden, there was no indication that he was going to pass away or anything. His heart just exploded inside his chest and it was instantaneous and there was no pain felt,” Manning said. “There is just kind of a numbness that comes with it. It does not feel real at first, that someone that important in your life is missing. I kind of threw myself into my work, it was easier than staying at my grandparents’ and moping around all day and being depressed. It gave me something to occupy my mind and my hands.”

Just before his father’s death, Manning had started his job on June 17. His mom wanted him to start supporting himself and pay for his car after he passed his driver’s test. Working 32 hours each week during the summer and the first six weeks proved to be a brutal challenge for him, and after his father died, he had to scale down the number of hours to 22. His friends noticed how hard of a time Manning was having, but they were determined to help him fight through.

“When I first found out, I was in denial. I kept thinking, ‘This isn’t true. It’s not something that could happen to the Manning family’,” junior Brittany Ellinger said. “I felt like everyone was going to be babying him in the months to come, so I just acted like I did before all this happened. Of course I was sensitive to it, but I thought he might want a friend to go to and to just hang out with, without having to talk about it.”

Manning had to not only work through the night several days of the week during the first semester of school, but look after his two siblings. Being an editor for the Coppell High School Round-Up yearbook staff, Manning had a loaded schedule. While he was making his journey through getting over the grief of the loss of his father, his co-workers at Barnes & Noble understood what he was going through.

“I would go to school for eight hours and then get home and leave immediately to go to work for another seven hour shift. Then I would get home at 11:45 p.m. each night. Sometimes I would do homework, sometimes I would not,” Manning said. “It was hard getting adjusted to everything. Sometimes my grades did suffer because of it, but I just knew that those moments would make me stronger as a person and make me persevere more when I look back on it and think about how I cannot do this again.”

While he was making his journey through getting over the grief of the loss of his father, his co-workers at Barnes & Noble understood what he was going through.

“Sometimes things did get overwhelming with year book and work and sometimes I would have to leave work to go take pictures. I think overall I did an OK job: not good, not great, but I survived,” Manning said. “People at work understood. Lots of them had that actually happen to them as well when they were younger. A fellow co-worker of mine had her dad pass away a few months ago, so she was a lot of help.”

Having a job that he was passionate helped his mind from wandering to sad thoughts. He had gone to Barnes and Noble since he was a child, so his job felt more like a hobby and was relaxing. But even with his friends and job to occupy him, he would always miss his father. Manning was raised in a tight-knit family atmosphere where his father was one his most influential people in his life.

“I learned a strong moral and work ethic. To just be yourself and always be true to yourself. Don’t lie to anyone and don’t try to cover things up because it will come back to bite you,” Manning said. “I learned that he never referred to mistakes as bad things that would happen, he would always say they were opportunities, things that you can always learn something from or gain from. He was always one to say how you can achieve something better the next time, rather than realize they were mistakes or faults.”

His faith and church friend group were by his side throughout the whole process, supporting him and thinking of new fun things to do. Coppell mother and Middle School North teacher Martha Thomas helped Manning the most, texting him Bible verses and prayers, reminding him he was not alone.

Manning also learned was to start relying on others because he found comfort in his friends. He overcame his natural instinct to do everything by himself, and realized there were people willing to help, just a phone call away.

“Obviously the family is going to have to do some adjusting, but I can tell he has done a great job of supporting his family and putting those needs before his own. He values people more and understands how precious life is. He has grown in all of his relationships with his family and friends, and has reevaluated his priorities in life,” Ellinger said.

The hardest part for Manning was the beginning of school. He had changed a lot over the few months during the summer away from school. He was not the same person as the one who had walked out on the last day of sophomore year.

“Last year I was a lot more focused and attentive and getting good grades. After my dad’s death, the first part of the year did not seem that important to me. School seemed like a joke. I would not go to class and I did not take grades seriously,” Manning said. “It finally kicked in that this is hurting not only myself but my future. It kicked in over Christmas break that I need to get myself back together and back in the game if I want to go to college and be successful.”

Manning is the oldest sibling – with his sister Ellie a freshman and brother Hank in fifth grade, so after last July, his role changed. He took on greater responsibility, paying for all of his gas for the car, so that his mom could pay the bills. He says having his job makes him feel like an adult, not taking money away from his mom and supporting his siblings. Besides feeling more like an independent person, Manning has also figured out what he wants in life.

“A lot of people are hung up on the fact that you need this perfect four year plan and rule your life by a GPA. That is not how life works, life is random and stuff can happen. You can have a 4.0 GPA going out of college, and you could get hit by a truck and be paralyzed the rest of your life,” Manning said.

When all seemed lost and everything felt so intense, like it would never get better, things did. Gradually, Manning started to lean on close friends and grow stronger in his faith.

“I was just there for him. He is one tough kid. Not once did he let it get to him, that I could see,” junior Griffin Campbell said.

Through trials and tribulations, Manning rose. The process was not easy, but according to Manning, it is OK not to be OK.

“There are times when I gave up during the school year, and I thought ‘I cannot do this’. It is difficult to go to school everyday when I am not into it, and I am not interested. You need to take a step back and look at things from a different view,” Manning said. “You need mental health days, and giving up gives you a chance to recuperate, even if it is just for a day. Giving in is sometimes OK. No one expects you to be superman.”