The Principle's Address at Graduation - June 2014

Graduates, this ceremony is held to recognize what you have both accomplished academically and therapeutically. We, the SRA Community have witnessed the changes you have made in your life and applaud your positive attitudes. We encourage you to keep strengthening your positive attitude for you will find that by so doing you will meet and succeed the challenges that come with living in today’s society. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “what lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” This idea is embraced by successful people who expect to face challenges, for they know that overcoming challenges is a normal, everyday part of life.

To strengthen your positive attitudes, which has already brought change to your lives, I encourage you to study and examine the lives of successful people, and by doing so, you will find that success didn’t just happen to them, but rather they were successful because they were persistent and because they possessed traits that are sorely needed to meet the challenges of life.

The first of these traits is commitment to excellence – when you are interested in doing something, you do it when circumstances permit. However, when you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results. Commitment is a prerequisite to success. Commitment is the state of being bound – both emotionally, intellectually – to a course of action. Commitment starts with a choice and is sustained by dedication and perseverance. Everyone wants to succeed and those who actually achieve it are those who are willing to put the blood, sweat and tears into their effort.

The second trait is attention to detail The difference between failure and success is doing a thing nearly right and doing it exactly right. Having a fervor for attention to detail is a mindset. It must be an obsession, you can’t just talk about it. You have to practice it every day for years. It is not enough just to do the best you can. You also have to do everything you can.

A third trait is sound fundamentals. As you move on to college you must continue your passion for knowledge. Enhance your insight by continuing your own research and listen to people of wisdom. Continue to read, for books are the mechanism by which we obtain knowledge, and knowledge will increase your personal value. Once you have the knowledge you must practice the sound fundamentals for practice leads to completing the task you face flawlessly.

The fourth trait you will discover is discipline. Most people aim to do right but often they fail, for whatever reason, they just don’t have the wherewithal to finish the job. They are lacking discipline. It doesn’t matter whether you are perusing success in business, sports, the arts or life in general. Hope is not an option. The difference between working and accomplishing is discipline. Discipline is about setting goals, figuring out a schedule to achieve those goals and then following your plan.

The formula is the same for everyone. Have a no-nonsense attitude, study hard, work hard and improve every day. Arrive early and stay late if that is what it takes to get the job done. Go the extra mile. It is one stretch of the highway of life where there are seldom any traffic jams!

So remember to develop the traits of commitment to excellence, give attention to details, practice sound fundamentals and be a disciplined person and if you do I believe that you will be able to meet the challenges of life and you will have personal satisfaction.

Finally, take time today to thank the people who gave you this special opportunity to change your life – mainly your parents who deeply love you and to the therapists, faculty, CLDs, community coaches and entire SRA family for the guidance and direction you have received to bring you to this celebration of your accomplishments and on behalf of the SRA community I extend wishes for you that are embodied in the ancient Native American Blessing which states:

May you be as strong as the Oak

Yet flexible as the Birch.

May you stand tall as the Redwood,

Live gracefully as the Willow,

And may you bear fruit

All your days on this earth.

An Invocation speech

Life is one’s individual journey. Even with all the madness, the difficult times, and low blows you have endured, you can choose to rise above. You can learn and grow into a woman that is passionate about making a difference and a woman that will absolutely blow others away.

The years ahead are crucial, but it can also be some of the best. It is a time to reflect, to explore, to embrace yourself and to begin new adventures. This time will be difficult, but you will truly find yourself and your own path. You can choose to stay the course of that path and push through all the good and the bad, or you can choose to let it run you down. Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return, if things don’t go as planned, or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those who do come out stronger. “What did this failure teach me?” is the question you will need to ask yourself. You will feel defeat, you will want to quit, but it’s a part of life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be challenges. Give this time a chance. Work hard and persevere. You'll be thankful for the challenge and what it will make of you.

            This time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. Most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition and to write your own life song.

My wish for you today is that you live a life that matters. One that matters not for your success but for your significance. One that matters not for your competence but for your character. And a life that matters because living it wasn't by accident; it was by choice.

The America Academy of Pediatrics - Policy Statement

Children, Adolescents and the Media, 2013

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2013/10/24/peds.2013-2656.full.pdf

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.

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.