Since I have been engrossed with countless hours of Degrassi – old school and new – I don’t know if I should be lecturing anyone about getting a grasp on reality.  But since it’s so easy for me to be judgmental from the other side of my boob tube, I’m going to comment away.

MEMO TO THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY OF JIMMY BROOKS:
Yes, Jimmy seems to be doing well.  He may not be walking yet, but he’s still outscoring Derek in basketball even from his wheelchair.  His cute girlfriend, Hazel, is right by his side as she’s always been and the boys of Downtown Sasquatch are still there to jam with him.  But honestly, does Jimmy really seem back to normal?  Wake up, everyone!  I know, I know – the people who care for Jimmy just want things to go back to the way it was.  If they could get Jimmy to feel like he is still capable of doing all the things he did before the shooting, maybe he wouldn’t feel as bad about being in a wheelchair.  But is it realistic for them to believe that he could forget everything that has happened…and just get back to being the old Jimmy?

Despite his best efforts to put a smile on his face, Jimmy is still plagued with thoughts from that fateful day.  Although he has the potential to become part of the National Wheelchair Sports Association, he just can’t seem to focus.  As a means of venting his thoughts and emotions, Jimmy turns to drawing.  Ellie (so not his girlfriend) stumbles upon his dark drawings and is surprised by Jimmy’s hidden talent.  Ellie encourages Jimmy to pursue his skills and invites him to an art exhibition. Although he initially refuses, Jimmy agrees to go as a way of getting his mind off of things.  Unfortunately, the visit to the art studio proves to be so distracting that he ends up missing his basketball trial.  Although the coach is miffed, he agrees to give Jimmy another chance.  As it turns out though, Jimmy doesn’t really care.  This whole dream about becoming a basketball player was something his father wanted for him.  Granted – it was something Jimmy wanted before in his previous life, but he’s not the same person he used to be.  Hazel has a hard time understanding what it is that Jimmy wants, and unfortunately he can’t help explain it to her.  He just knows that things are different now and he needs to make some changes in his life.  Although he seems doubtful she could possibly understand, he promises he will try to let her in.

MEMO TO LIBERTY VAN ZANDT, DEGRASSI HIGH PRESIDENT:
Living in her own world of denial, Liberty for some reason thinks she can get away without telling anyone about her pregnancy even though she’s already in her third tri-mester.  What the #$%?  How could she honestly think that no one would figure that out? Where exactly was she planning on having the baby anyway?  To top it off, Liberty, who can’t trust JT to be responsible for anything, hasn’t even gone to see a doctor!  HELLOOO…  She might as well have an abortion if she’s going to be that careless about the health of her child.  Yes – JT hasn’t done any research on pregnancy.  And no – he’s not exactly the poster child for fatherhood, but who is she to lecture him?? 

Although Liberty thought she could go through her whole pregnancy unnoticed, her younger brother is the first person in the whole school who finally manages to figure it out.  Granted, he does have the advantage of seeing her throw up every morning.  And oh how convenient it is for the story-telling that he is the only boy in his family-planning class.  Although he is concerned for his sister, and angry at JT for sleeping with her, he agrees not to tell her parents.  Let’s see if her parents are smart enough to figure it out for themselves.  Danny’s silence does come with one condition:  JT must take care of the baby for his family-planning class.  He wants to make sure that he gets an ‘A’.  Unfortunately, JT cannot control the fake child’s crying and eventually fights with Danny over the doll.  As a result of their struggle, the baby is crushed under a passing car.  Although Danny gets an incomplete, JT learns that getting a good grade wasn’t really his motivation.  JT was manipulated into taking the baby so that he would inadvertently gain some knowledge about babies.  The man/boy who got Danny’s sister pregnant needed to know what he was doing.

Coincidentally, book-smart Liberty was also in need of some schooling.  Although she had studied up about pregnancy, she had no clue where to begin.  She was still in too much denial to realize that she needed to ask for help.  She refused to believe that Class Presidents could get pregnant too.  With JT and Danny’s insistence, she agrees that they should finally start asking for help.