In 2017, 14-year-old Deserae Turner was shot in the head and left for dead. She was shot by two male classmates who were “tired” of Deserae messaging them on Snapchat. They lured her to a canal to hang out. They then stole $44 from her and shot her in the head. Deserae was discovered later that day and immediately taken to the hospital where she was put into a medically-induced coma. Since then, she has endured 10 brain surgeries and has 2 more scheduled. The bullet pierced her brain, damaging her memory and reducing mobility on the right side of her body. Deserae has little memory of that day and has expressed shock that two classmates did this to her.
Two years later, Deserae was named Homecoming Queen of Green Canyon High School. This is an honor that was voted on by her peers. Moreover, when members of the community heard the news, they donated their services and finances to make it a perfect night for Deserae. For example, a hairdresser did her hair and make up for free. The cost of her gown, shoes and jewelry was paid by members of the community. When Deserae walked on the football field that night, she was greeted by a standing ovation from her peers.
“’I was just a homecoming queen, there’s nothing special about that,’” Deserae said. “But if you think about what I’ve been through, yes — it’s very special. It is very awesome.”
Joe’s Perspective: It’s unimaginable what humans can do to other humans. Acts of violence cannot be taken back. She will always be affected by this despicable act of cruelty. She has spent her teenage years in hospitals and rehabilitation centers instead of enjoying high school activities. She will never be able to drive a car. The shooter received a prison sentence of “Life behind bars.” Deserae has shown great courage, determination and character thru it all. She could have become jaded or mean toward others, but her kindness continues to shine. I think the homecoming queen vote was the way the student body demonstrated their support. It was their way of recognizing the goodness in her!
Your Turn: What lesson(s) do you take from this story?
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its really special for her because she went through a lot and its really good that they cheered for her and the fact that she has to fight every day its really special.i hope she gets better and be someone in the future and i wish her good luck. its really amazing that she can still breathe after what she been through its a miracle.
The first thing I learned is that even when times are rough to stay positive. The second thing I learned is that if something bad happens it happened and you can’t change the past. The third thing I took from this video is that even if you have scars from going through surgery their your battle scars and you shouldn’t think they’re ugly because it shows that you’re not perfect and the scars show how tough you are. Nobody’s perfect and nobody can say that they are and be correct. I feel bad for the girl because she got shot in the head but, I liked that she was positive and it could have been worse she could have been killed but thankfully she wasn’t so in a way she’s lucky. In all, this story started out sad but then got better when she became the homecoming queen and everybody was cheering for her.
i fell like if i was her i would have so much inspiration to keep me on my feet and have motivation and having battle scars just means that there a lot more in the future and to come. Having someone to support you and just being more outgoing and not being non confident and having friends could mean the world also being held in with emotions. Also being the prom Queen while a tragic thing has happened is super awesome.
The lesson that i learned from this video is that things happen and you have to get back up again. It is amazing that Deserea survived after being shot in the head. Its a miracle that she survived. It is also very sad but happy that she is the homecoming queen of the entire school.I love how everyone in the crowd is so happy and cheers for her.Its a miracle!!!
A lesson I can learn from this story is that something little can be turned into something big.The fact that two of her classmates shot her in the head is insane.Even though they didn’t think she was pretty and she was blowing up their phones it doesn’t mean they had any right and didn’t need to shoot her for the tiniest thing.I think that if they didn’t want to get texted by her over and over they could’ve asked her politely and if that doesn’t work then block her and if she asks give her a logical explanation.I think that the choice the two boys made was out of hand and illogical. But i’m glad that her peers voted for her and cheered her on.
I learned that there are lots of negative things in this world and in a situation like this, it’s hard to stay positive. But you can still fight though problems. Miracles exist and they can happen. It’s amazing that she survived being shot and the head and I’m so happy for her. I’m happy that she is doing well. She has been through so much and the fact that she gets to be Homecoming queen and have a standing ovation is great since so many girls would love to be homecoming queen also.This all shows that people can go though a lot of problems but still enjoy life and be positive, no matter what happens.
The lessons that I took from this story are that even though you have been through things, you can still come up from them. This is a great example, Deserea was shot in the head and had 10 brain surgery’s but she never let that get to her and now here she is winning homecoming queen in front of her whole school. It was amazing how everyone cheered for her. She loved how everyone cheered for her and didn’t judge her and say ” but that girl got shot she never should have won homecoming queen”.I mean i should know because i won princess at one of my school dances which was VERY ANNOYING!!!!
It’s so sad that people can be so cruel. But this story is inspiring and gives me hope.
this is a good honest story, honesty is good because if someone doesn’t have honesty then that person will never be trusted.
That people can do anything they put their mind to, even if something life changing happens she didn’t let that stop her.
well this can teach you that there is always a way to get better also that no matter what people do or say you will get through it also she was left for dead but she still got out of it alive
This is such a good story to hear, I love that even with what she went through she is still standing strong and living her life she is such a good inspiration.
you can always find love even if you look diffrent
I learned to not trust random people and not take what you have for granite. Because I can drive when I get older but now she can’t.
The lesson i got from this is to keep fighting even though you might be alone and you cant do anything. Ab
A girl got shot in the head and she survived and she was voted homecoming queen and now she is living life and now she said she felt like “Cinderella”.
That she has been through a lot but she does not let that kill her mood or diverge her from living her life.
I believe that what she went through is a terrible thing, but it also showed other people and her classmates that you can continue to do things or anything you set your mind to.