To STARS,
I wish that there was more, but all I can do is thank you for your life-saving program and tell you what you did for me.
My sophomore year of high school I was caught cutting in geometry class. It was the first time in a long time that I had done it, but I couldn’t stop myself. The school nurse took me to talk to Mrs. Sheets who was, and still is, in charge of the STARS at Hendersonville High School. From that day forward I was apart of STARS. The very first group meeting I sat on the farthest corner of the couch and didn’t speak, shaking the whole time.
Gradually, the girls and Mrs. Sheets gained my trust and helped me begin to heal. I did not settle in quickly. I was very hesitant to attend because I thought that there was no way the girls in my group could understand my clinical depression or anxiety disorder. What I learned was that not only did they understand, but many lived with worse. I was accepted with open arms and encouraged every step of the way. I had already been in therapy for a year, but having this extra resource at school is what got me through. I’m a freshmen in college now and prepared to deal what comes my way because of STARS and the girls I met. Mrs. Sheets is an amazing woman; she put up with an awful lot from all of us “damaged” girls, but she met us with love and words of wisdom. She never judged any of us, nor did she make us feel like we had failed when we relapsed into old habits, mine being cutting, other girls drinking or whatever it was we did to make ourselves feel something other than broken and get through the day. She lifted us up and I will be forever grateful to STARS for having such a great program and bringing that amazing woman into my life and so many others.
If I could give advice to other students, it would be to give STARS a chance. There really is a future out there for us, and it really does get better. Have faith in God, because He will lift us up. Nothing is ever hopeless and no matter how badly we’ve screwed up, the sun is still going to rise in the morning. Every day is a new chance, a new beginning.
I hope this helps! If there is ever anyway that I can be involved in STARS again, I would love to be able to help. I wish all of you the best and thank you again!
Yours Very Truly,
Mary Beth Sadler
