MidWest Academy

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If you'd asked me a year ago, what I though about Midwest Academy, I would have listed off an entire list of complaints and tell you of how “demented and sickeningly insane the commune is.” However, the way I saw MWA back then, can only give you a glimpse at how truly “insane” I was. I owe them who I am today. Midwest has truly changed my life and I wouldn't be where I am now, if it weren't for them. Now, that isn't to say that I hated every minute I was there. Yeah, it DOES stink to be away from those you love, especially once you start to realize how much you've taken them for granted. But then, I always thought about how much better the reunions were and how I was able to talk, I mean really talk, with my Mom. After the first time we'd seen each other in several months, we both agreed (yes, I said we, as in my mother and I, were in agreement...) that it was the true first time that we'd ever been able to sit down and have a civil conversation and actually be productive and get things accomplished. Midwest is the reason our relationship is continuing to blossom and remain strong, despite being miles apart.

When I first arrived, it seemed that I was the perfect girl on the wing. Many people questioned why I was even there in the first place. As the weeks went by, though, I came to understand that even though I may not have smoked or drank, I still had problems. I faced a lot of “junk” there, too. A little over a month after I first arrived, I had to make the terrifying decision of whether or not to stay in the program or leave. At first, I wanted to leave and believed that as soon as I turned 18, I'd be out of there. But, after that month, I knew that the experiences and material that I was learning was more important than keeping my pride. The skills they taught, not only in the seminars, but from day to day, I still use today. Ironically, I remember certain staff (who I still talk to and LOVE) who would tell me that “life in the program is a lot like life, better get used to it.” In the moment, I'd always joke it off, wondering how in the world a program could ever be anything like real life. Yet, here I am, in as much “life” as you can get, utilizing the very skills I learned all those months ago.

If you are thinking about sending your kid to MWA, I forewarn you that the road isn't going to be easy, yet again nothing in life that is worth it, could ever be considered easy, now that I think about it. My family and I both made tremendous sacrifices to be able to be the family we once were. But that's the goal, to be who we were all along, to remember that in the beginning, we were able to get along and love each other. To me, that's so worth everything that we went through to get to where we are now.