Maria, 20
Where she is now: Attending Bellevue College to become a Therapist
Eastside Academy helped me to believe that I am worth something. Before I started attending Eastside Academy I lived in Eastern Washington. Academically I was doing well, but my self-worth was terrible, I was being bullied, I couldn’t seem to make friends, and I had no confidence in myself. I struggled with anxiety, with depression, with suicidal ideation. It was a really hard time for me, and I felt lost.
My relationship with my mother was difficult as well. When I lived with her, my anxiety and my depression increased more and more. My mother was not mentally stable, and I was scared. I was scared wondering what was going to happen to us: were we going to live on the streets? In a shelter? I was 14 years old when all of this was happening. I thought I needed to get a job to take care of my mom. This drove my anxiety, my depression, and my suicidal ideation even higher.
Ruby, my older sister, knew what was happening. She saw what I was going through and recommended that I look at Eastside Academy. She had graduated from Eastside in 2013, and told me about the Renew Houses, suggesting that I could stay there while I went to school. I didn’t know what to expect, I’d never lived anywhere without my family, I was nervous and a little scared but was grateful that I was able to move into the houses before I even started school. On my first day, the house parents took me out to dinner so that I could get to know the other girls in the house. Things just clicked for me, and I lived in the houses for all four years of high school.
The houses were different. Different than I ever expected. I couldn’t believe the amount of freedom I had to simply be me—to express myself, to express my feelings. To leave the worry of where we would sleep, of taking care of my mom. I could leave all of that behind and simply be me. The house was also my home, I wasn’t a guest. I didn’t have to ask to take a shower, to get food from the fridge or cook something, to watch tv or listen to music. I was home. This was my home, I was never alone here. There was always someone there to talk to, to listen to, to laugh with, to cry with, to be with. The Renew home helped me learn that everyone has a story, their own story of pain and trauma, of hurt and abuse and neglect, and that their story is important too. I wasn’t alone, and they weren’t alone, We had people we could walk alongside through life. We still talk regularly today.
I am worth something, And because of my experience here, I want others to know that they’re worth something too, That’s why I want to become a therapist and go into counseling for teenagers, children, and young adults. I’m currently working my way through school at Target and taking classes at Bellevue College towards this goal.
