taylor's story

a few thoughts from taylor's graduate speech:

“Before I came to Diamond Ranch Academy I was a mess. I lived my life only in anger, and my family and I were very broken. Diamond Ranch Academy changed my life, and saved it. At first I didn’t let it help me, then I started to try, and I began to change. My changes were gradual, and I still have on-going struggles, but for each struggle, I now have the tools to conquer a lot of things about me, but I am very happy with the end product and everything about me makes me feel that all my mistakes lows, and all the difficult times were really worth it. So much of me has changed, but I don’t feel alienated to myself. I feel like this is who I’ve always meant to be."

“Today I feel happy. I like me, and what’s better is other people like me too… It doesn’t feel like the world is on my shoulders anymore because I can laugh easily now and smiles and jokes aren’t hard to come by. I feel like I’ve lost a million pounds in my heart. Where anger used to control me I fought back, and now I control anger."

“Perhaps my greatest success has been the change between my family and me. When I was at home we couldn’t talk. .. Today we are a new family. We love each other dearly, and I can’t imagine hurting them again like I did before DRA. We create win-win situations to our problems where before it was my way only. We are a family again.”