Children, Adolescents and the Media, 2013
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
An SRA graduate's speech
There’s something to be said about a place in which one can
make as many mistakes as possible and always expect a second chance. That this
place, though thousands of miles away, can feel as much like a home as home
did. Many people will never know a place like this. Somewhere they can let
loose and just be—one hundred percent of the time. I’m lucky enough to have
stumbled into such a place.
Today, I walk back out.
I’ve come to accept a fact of life that really sucks until you
put it into perspective. That is, I will never be cured of the human condition.
Yeah, I get irritable. I cry a lot. I’ve tried striving for perfection and
landed flat on my face. Only when I released my fears of making mistakes and
embraced my utter humanness did things start working in my life.
I would never have gotten here were I still at home. I would
never have learned that I was wrong about everything I thought I knew. And I
didn’t want to change. But looking back, I often wonder how anyone could choose
a life of drugs and self-destruction over even a single moment like this. We
all have though, in our own way. Each one of us has seen the side of life we
wished would just disappear. I tried to ignore it, and it got me here.
Here.
Today, I leave SRA, not a new person, but as myself again. I
leave the resilient, precious human being I entered this world as. But because
I know now that I am not my past, I leave today stronger, wiser, and more “me”
than I’ve ever been.
Today is not the end. I have reached the day on which I
choose whether to implement my new skills and continue on this path of
excellence or throw it all away.
To me there is no choice.
Without the help of Spring Ridge and the undying support and
courage of my family, I would not be standing here today.
I’m taking all of this, all of you, home with me. Because I was given a second
chance.
I’m doing it right this time.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Graduates Lessons Learned
12 Lessons I’ve Learned While at SRA
One: It’s okay to be afraid at first. Still say thank you to
your parents for caring enough about you to get you help, and have the courage
to look people in the eye.
Two: You will make more mistakes in a relatively short time
period than you ever thought possible. This is a good thing. Make sure to pick
yourself up off the ground.
Three: Find people who care about you enough to be honest.
Four: Remember that if you are skating on thin ice, you might
as well dance. And when you have the opportunity to dance, surrender to
yourself. Now it is finally the time to live for you.
Five: You always have a choice.
Six: Choosing to live was the best decision I ever made.
Seven: I know who I am, I love myself, and I know I will make
it.
Eight: When you are really ready, don’t be surprised if leaving
is ten times harder than coming ever was. Always remember that One: It’s okay
to be afraid at first, and Seven: I know who I am, I love myself, and I know I
will make it.
Nine: There is something special about the girls here. We are
not merely survivors. We are livers. We are the earth-shakers. We the hope for
a better future. Most importantly, if there’s only one thing we all learned, it
is that we are unstoppable.
Ten: I have a home here. It was in this place I began to find
out who I really am: An authentic, trusting young woman who deserves love. I
have so many people to thank for that.
Eleven: Two years ago, I could’ve stood up here with these
three people and would’ve felt
completely alone. Now, I am proud to call these people my family. Which
brings me back to Seven: I know who I am, I love myself, and I know I will make
it. This is it. This is where the rubber hits the road. This is just the
beginning. I know that Two: I will make
more mistakes in a relatively short time period than I ever thought possible,
but I must remember Five: I always have a choice. Six: Choosing to live was the
best decision I ever made, and Seven: I know who I am, I love myself, and I
know I will make it.
Twelve: Life is going to slap me in the face. But Ten: I always
have a home here. Eight: Leaving is ten times harder than coming ever was. Six:
Choosing to live was the best decision I ever made. Three: I will find people
who care about me enough to be honest. Two: I will make more mistakes than I
ever thought possible. Nine: It’s okay to be afraid at first. And at the end of
the day I will always have Seven: I know who I am, I love myself, and I know I
will make it. Seven: I know who I am, I love myself, and I know I will make it.
It’s not going to be easy, but I know I will always have Seven.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
May 2014 - Graduation Speech delivered by Principal Joseph Gubbins
Good morning and welcome.
I extend on behalf of our
community a warm welcome to all and especially to the parents, relatives and
friends of the students graduating and transitioning from SRA today.
I also want to acknowledge
and recognize the parents of current and former students who are in
attendance. I also want to welcome
graduates and former students in the audience.
Graduates,
I fervently hope that during your stay at SRA you have strongly started to
build on the two foundations that will be your guiding principles for building
a successful life. First, I hope you
availed yourself of each precious moment you spent under the guidance of your
talented therapist to come to a basic understanding and knowledge of your many
talents, strengths and have begun to develop strategies to lessen your
weaknesses. If so, then you have begun
the journey of coming to love who you are and to know and understand your true
self. It is a journey that you must
continue through your entire life for if you don’t know and love yourself you
will never really experience true love of others.
Second, I hope that you listened to the wisdom of the faculty
because if you did than you have begun to truly understand the importance of an
education and a quest for knowledge. You
should understand that the true signs of knowledge are not grades and GPAs but
rather what you have stored in your brain that will let you take that knowledge
and use it to solve new situations and that allows you to broaden your
perspective of different topics and viewpoints.
The world you will face is much different from my generation
or your parents’ generation faced. Yours
is a world without borders for it is a global world. You will compete in your careers with people
from every continent in this universe.
People from countries where education is highly valued and mastery of
knowledge demanded. You have heard the
theme 10,000 hours of practice many times at SRA, and you will find in life it
might even take more in this daily changing world of technology and
information.
Until now your education has been meticulously planned for you
usually in discrete packets – English 1, US History, etc. You knew what was going to be taught and how
you were to be assessed. In real life,
however, there are no longer daily objectives written on a board to guide
you. Learning becomes more difficult to
quantify and most real life tests are unannounced, especially tests involving
your character, ethics and feelings for others.
Your education in college will change forms. You may learn important lessons in the wee
hours of the morning in a spirited discussion in your dorm or at a coffee break
between classes in the student union rather than in an English seminar
class. Lessons can come from opinions
sometime from people you aren't particularly interested in listening to, make sure
you listen carefully to these unscripted and unsolicited opinion for they will
help you to develop and refine your belief system.
Use the two foundations to build your life story – to build a
life where each of you make a difference in this world, to make the change that
you want to see, to make a difference in not only yourself but in the lives of
others and to learn from others.
I cannot predict or tell you how your life story will
unfold. I can, however, share some
things that I have learned in my life journey that may help you.
11. Believe in yourself – Don’t let your fears overwhelm
your desires. Let the barriers you face—and
believe me there will be barriers—be external, not internal. Fortune does favor the bold, and I promise
that you will never know what you’re capable of unless you try. Don’t be afraid to change or unwilling to
change your journey through life. Your
journey is just beginning to unfold, enjoy the journey wherever it takes you.
22. Find your passion in life – If you have not found your
passion in life yet, you will find it eventually – so don’t give up on finding
it and following it. Don’t feel guilty
if you don’t know what to do with your life.
Keep seeking it! You will not
find it in things or money. The
important things are those that fill you from inside; that fill your
heart. All successful people aren't
happy, and all happy people are not successful.
If you have to choose, choose happiness.
Pursue your passion but don’t confuse feelings with facts, fun with
happiness or pleasure with fulfillment.
33. Take control of your life – As your life unfolds, the
first thing you should do is throw away that map someone gave you to find
success and begin to draw your own map.
Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s dream. Take control of your life by taking control
of your attitudes. Pain and
disappointment are inevitable, but suffering is optional and tough times are
always temporary. Live life honestly; listen
to both your head and your heart.
44. Act—Create
opportunities—Life will happen to you, whether you try to guide it or not, so
you might as well try to influence the outcome.
You need to know what you want and you have to be willing to go after
it. Take action! Every story you ever connected with, every
leader you’ve admired, every puny little thing that you ever accomplished is a
result of taking action. You have a
choice. Don’t sacrifice a thousand
tomorrows for a few todays, and don’t settle for a little life. Live with purpose and for significance. Respect yourself and others, avoid
self-righteousness and be kind rather than right.
55. Follow your heart – The key is to listen to your heart
and let it carry you in the direction of your dreams. I've learned that it is possible to set your
sights high and achieve your dreams and do it with integrity, character and love. Each day that you’re moving toward your
dreams without compromising who you are, you’re winning.
66. Live life today. Don’t wait until tomorrow – It
doesn't matter that your dreams come true if you spent your whole life
sleeping. So get out there and go for
it! Don’t be caught waiting. It’s great to plan for your future but
nothing ever happens in the future. Life
happens daily.
Give back and be generous –
Life is not about warming yourself by the fire, life is about building the fire
and generosity is the match. If you want
happiness for an hour take a nap, but if you want happiness for a lifetime,
help someone less fortunate than you. As
each day in your life move forward do something to make yourself a better
person and do something for someone else, someone less fortunate than you. Make a difference. So with all this in mind, take the time to
dream big as dreams help you to do great things, large and small. Continue to learn – be curious, be open to
others whose interests differ from yours, read, and learn something new each
day. Take responsibility for your
successes as well as your failures. Be
resilient, learn from your mistakes and celebrate your accomplishments. As you sit here together as a class for the
last time, I encourage you to focus on what you have learned and accomplished
at SRA and to use this knowledge and experience to your advantage as it will
continue to help you to live your life fully.
Finally, as a side note – remember when you thought your
parents didn't know a lot? Watch how
incredibly smart they become over the next decade. For the most part this intellectual leap will
not be from attending academic classes – it turns out that parents are pretty
skilled at picking up on real life lessons.
Continue to talk and listen to your parents. They have learned from their mistakes and
will save you much stress and anxiety.
They also will not charge you for their expertise and most of the time
you may even get a free meal out of the deal.
Today more than any other day, remember to thank them for the
sacrifices they made to give you this opportunity where you have changed your
life’s course and at the same time remember to be thankful to every member of
the SRA community who have been a part of your transformation. I hope for each of you on behalf of the SRA
family that your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest
of your hopes, to the window of your opportunities and to the most special
places your heart has ever known, and I leave you with the Irish blessing which
expresses the Spring Ridge Academy family love of you:
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at
your back
May the sun shine warm upon
your face
May the rains fall soft upon
your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm
of his hand.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Dangers of Sexting
In a recent post article posted in the Teen Angst section on Psychology Today online, Raychelle Cassada Lohmann, MS, LPC, discussed the dangers of sexting. As you may know, "sexting" is texting sexually explicit photos to someone else. Once those photos are sent, there is little you can do to get them back. As this article explains, often teenagers send these texts impulsively in the need of "instant communication and gratification." However, most teens do not think about the ramifications of sending these type of texts. The article points out that, according to "researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch, more than 'half of teens have been asked to send a nude photo of themselves to someone, and 31% had requested a naked picture to be sent to them.'" It is imperative for parents to educate their teenagers about the dangers and ramifications of sexting.
The article goes on to discuss ways to protect teens from sexting, including educating teens about the legal ramifications of sexting. At Spring Ridge Academy, we teach our students the dangers regarding the internet including sexting. We encourage all parents to discuss this important issue with their teens. For more information, go to the article No Safe Sext in Psychology Today.
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