Winter Corral 2019
By Resident – RP
When I first came to The Ranches, I thought that is was were the “bad kids”came. I thought that this was a place where your parents dropped you off because they couldn’t handle you; that they don’t even care about you.
I started getting used to The Ranches and I started to realize that we aren’t bad kids and this isn’t what I thought it was going to be. When I first got here, I didn’t even want to be here. There are times where I still don’t. I start to think about my mom and my brother and my sister and how bad I miss them. I get stuck.
I don’t ask for help and I keep everything that I am feeling inside. I hate talking about how I feel, but the staff has helped me to learn to open up more. I hate talking about how I feel; everybody hates talking about how they feel.
So, what does The Ranches mean to me? The Ranches mean a lot to me. They have given me an opportunity to want more for myself. Before coming to The Ranches I didn’t have a future; I didn’t know what I wanted.
The Ranches can’t force people to change. Before The Ranches, I was ditching school, being disrespectful to my mom and other family members. I was constantly fighting with my brother. You see, my mom is a single mom with three kids and no support. My brother and my dad passed away when we were three and five years old. I didn’t have a dad growing up and it was difficult for us; especially my mom.
The Ranches is helping me to realize what I want in the future. When I get older, I want to be an orthopedic doctor. I want to have a small family with a house and a car to get places. Before coming to The Ranches, I didn’t think that I would ever see this as my future. Because of The Ranches, I have hope for my future now.
