A Sweet Reunion & Student Success Story
Parent Seminar – Bringing us all together to hear from one of our graduates.
Parent seminar is an opportunity for our students’ parents to come together on campus to learn and support one another. This past parent seminar was even more special when one of our students spoke to all of us. He had successfully completed the program and was transitioning home. He wanted to share some thoughts on his experience at Oxbow with everyone, in particular, his family. We were all left with full hearts and teary eyes after he shared his thoughts and embraced his mom. This is the reward that comes from the difficult process of helping these boys and their families. We are privileged to share some of what he said below.
A Family and The Motivation To Change
“When you’re here, you learn how to accept someone for who they really are. You don’t see them as the person that they were, but instead, you want to see them for the person that they’re trying to become. I want to thank my therapist, my family, the wonderful staff that I’ve talked to, the staff that have come and gone, the program coordinators, the supervisors, and all you wonderful parents who are keeping your sons’ heads up when they’re not in the right place. When I was in the wrong place, my mom flew out and she said ‘Get your crap together, so that you can come home and be happy and healthy’. That really changed my perspective on what I needed to do and who I needed to be thankful for.
The thing that motivated me the most to keep going and to keep my life on track was my little brother. I had to leave him alone at home and I wasn’t allowed [to be] with him at all. I brought him into some very bad things and I can’t begin to tell him how sorry I am. It’s hard to look back on the person I was because I wasn’t happy, I was depressed, I was suicidal, I didn’t want to have anything to do with anyone except for myself, and I wanted to benefit myself in any way I could. I didn’t care about anybody, but now I have something to fight for, my wonderful family. And not just my family, but also the people who have been around me since day one. Thank you, guys. I can’t even begin to say how grateful I am for the amazing team I’ve gotten to work with and the wonderful people that have supported me from day one. I love you guys, I really do.”