Teens seek selves at seminar
By Cynthia Riddle

Forrest spent the weekend indoors, to make his mom happy, even though he would much rather have been at the Ventura County Fair. He was one of 64 teens participating in a Teen Insight seminar, held at Nordhoff High School, July 31 through Aug. 3.

Most of the teenagers were from the Ojai area, but some came from as far away as France and Minnesota just to take the course. Local families provided housing for the half dozen kids who came from out of town.

Sponsored by the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation, the seminar is touted as an experience in which teenagers can "grow and learn about themselves in a supportive and uplifting group environment." The seminar included one-on-one processing, guided imagery and big and small group activities. Much of the work seemed designed to give the teens a chance to discover their inner strengths and increase their self-confidence.

And according to participants, it seemed to have done just that. Chloe, 15, felt she gained in self-esteem and found out that "people don't judge me as hard as I think they do." Blanca, 18, realized that she "can be more open, more confident," knowing that "there are teens with the same problems" that she had.

Many of the teens were there because their parents had signed them up. Some were less than enthusiastic about coming. "In the beginning, I came with an attitude unwilling to participate. But, it really showed me how I should open my heart to others. I definitely benefited from Teen Insight," shared Marlee, 14. Cydney, 13, was another one who didn't want to be there.

"I came in with a bad attitude and my parents forcing me, but in the first hour, I started having fun." By the time of the graduation ceremony on Sunday night, she felt she had learned self-respect and gained in self-esteem by learning to come out of her "comfort zone."

Inspired by the experience of several valley teens, including Andrew Nelson and Eric Lumiere, who had done other Teen Insight seminars, the staff of the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation and other community members worked for months to put on this program. Through garage sales and direct fund raising, they raised more than $8,000 to help fund students for whom the $295 tuition was too steep. They were committed to making this experience available for everyone, regardless of their economic circumstance. Over half of the teens who attended, did so on scholarships.

Eric Lumiere, 18, has done three of these seminars and assisted at another seven. He volunteered to assist at this seminar because "Insight is one of the things I look forward to each year. I love to be in an environment that allows people to open up to where they can be vulnerable and purely themselves." It sounds like an environment we'd all like to live in.

The Youth Foundation plans to sponsor more of these trainings in the coming months.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

Back to the news