Out of the Darkness

A few years ago on Halloween, a group of girls here were telling ghost stories in the dorm.  It was innocent fun until one of the girls "overreacted."  She apologized the next day for being disruptive, confessing that she had never gotten over her fear of the dark.  In the discussion that followed, she was able to relate her fear to the abuse she suffered as a child, something she had always been too embarrassed to talk about.  The incident opened her up to the help she needed to deal with her chronic depression, and a great deal of healing followed. 

Learning to respect ourselves and others includes respecting our fears and vulnerabilities enough to talk about them.  It takes courage to open up about a painful past.  Fortunately, many students find that courage here in the supportive environment of a therapeutic boarding school.