For me, Wellsprings is not an escape from public school, but a safe-haven from the stress of being in a high school that pushes its students so hard. My everyday life in public school was not so bad. I had great teachers and even better friends. But the stress was too much for me. Everyday I would be assigned hours of homework, on top of the difficult classes I attended everyday. I had no life outside of school.After a while, the stress built up, and I broke. I dealt with a variety of illnesses, from migraines to horrible coughs. My constant illness caused me to miss months of school. And every year seemed to get worse. Multiple hospitalizations and surgeries convinced me I need to escape the terrible cycle I was in.
So I went on an adventure to find a new school, and discovered Wellsprings. Wellsprings stood out from the other schools. The people at Wellsprings were all kind to me, probably because everyone had also had some sort of bad experience that leads them to Wellsprings. The tight-knit community offered new ideas to me that enticed me. So I found myself going to Wellsprings.
Wellsprings still offers me much to learn. Everyday, I learn the basic knowledge needed for life, like math and literature, while at the same time enjoying myself. I learn other things. Everyday I am learning important life lessons. How to treat others and how saying something jokingly can be offensive to someone else.
I also learned new things about myself all the time. I have learned that when I accept who I am, others will be more respectful of me, even if I am a nerdy, video game playing teenage boy.
So Wellsprings draws me back everyday, offering me a safe-haven from stress, and new things for me to learn everyday.
-- Geoff ('10)
