Kallie McCallum overcame the challenges of having a mother who was unable to provide for her children and a father who was absent for the majority of her life to grow up to be an amazing woman. But it never came easily, having to help her older sister raise their brother with the bare minimum, or moving from foster home to foster home.

McCallum spent most of her life in Florida so coming to Michigan wasn’t easy, especially when she had to leave her brother behind with his father after raising him for almost 3 years with her sister. She relocated and began a new life in Flint, Michigan, with her grandfather in 2019.

There are many things, whether they be people or places, back in Florida, misses dearly even though she adores her life here in Michigan.

“The main things I miss the most would be my brother, Keegan, and my uncle, Eric, and Publix the grocery store. I really liked their subs,” exclaimed McCallum.

McCallum misses more than only her family and that one grocery store, as well as her favorite memories from her childhood in Florida.

“I miss the calm moments in life when our mom acted as if she was just that, our mom, like the days we would have picnics under a bridge we visited often and attempted to fish with our homemade fishing poles,” McCallum expressed calmly.

Although she misses things back in Florida, she would never go back unless it was to see her brother or to experience a vacation where she doesn’t have to worry about things only a mother should, but to enjoy the childhood moments she always dreamed and hoped for.

“One thing I hope I will one day experience is the joy of going to Disneyworld and doing anything and everything or maybe even Universal Studios,” she picture dreamily.

She takes advantage of every opportunity she has in Michigan. She appreciates not having to worry about changing schools and saying goodbye to friends. She currently has a steady life with a large group of friends, and she wouldn’t change a thing.

Despite her difficult childhood, she never fails to make others happy. McCallum’s many quirks, such as her evident clumsiness or her never-ending sense of humor, always manage to put a smile on the faces of others.

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With phrases like “hurteded,” “confuzzled,” or “bestestest,” she manages to make people laugh despite her occasionally poor grammar. Or how she trips over nothing but air. And occasionally even bumps into walls. Despite her awkwardness, McCallum is incredibly clever, and consistently earns straight A’s, she advances quickly in math being a whole year ahead of most of her classmates.

McCallum persevered through it all, every minute of it. She continues to do so every day, she loves very deeply even if she doesn’t say it a lot. She shows it in her jokes and her smile, and without saying it, everyone knows just how much she cares.

Each and every one of her friends would tell just how amazing she is, even with her awkward tendencies. McCallum inspires her friends to look past the hard moments in life and to focus on surrounding themselves with amazing friends.

And they do just that by being friends with Kallie McCallum, the girl who loves and cares to no end.