Building Bonds and Finding Strength
I spent my first month sitting in a corner, it took me that long to open up to the ‘Solstice life’. But once I embraced the program, everything really changed.
My relationships with the mentors was an essential part of opening up for me. They’re accessible, they’re always around, and it’s really nice to have someone to turn to when you’ve had a rough day. Once you meet someone you feel you can talk to, it becomes something you want to do again, and the opportunity was always there for me at Solstice.
Embracing Change from Inside Out
I was a different from some of the other girls. I’d been in therapy for seven years, but it wasn’t enough to help me change. The only way I was going to heal was to get away from my home, and have the space to work on my issues full time. At Solstice they focus on the family a lot, but in my case it was more about me.
I was adopted at 9, with reactive adaptive disorder which meant that I was stealing and lying. By the time I got to Solstice my family was at the end of their rope, and Solstice was a last chance for me. My parents never kept anything from me, never did anything without a reason. They realized they couldn’t help me on their own, and fortunately, they found out about Solstice.
I was there for ten months. The individual and group work I did helped me find my voice, and I learned how to manage the emotions I was feeling. The emotions still come up, but I can handle them much better now.
Success After Solstice
Now, I’m in college. I was able to head to college early, so I was seventeen when I started, and am working to help pay for it. I want to do pediatric nursing when I graduate.
Solstice got me through one of the hardest times in my life, and helped me deal with my traumas in a healing way. I was able to let go of the past, so I can be here in the present. I consider Solstice a home. I still keep in touch with the people there. I had a support group that’s just huge, between the therapists and mentors, the other girls, all helping each other. Many of us still keep in touch, and I still feel like I have friends I can reach out to if I’ve had a hard day, which is great.
I want to emphasize that I wouldn’t be where I am today without Solstice, and the friends I made there.