Last week I had the opportunity to spend three days with the Jaywalker U students in Winter Park, Colorado, for Spring Semester 2014 orientation. These young men come from all walks of life, they have differing stories, and their personalities are as different as night and day. Yet, moment-by-moment these young men accepted the quirks of each other, worked together and played together. Each was accepted, and felt acceptable, as members of the JWU program. This act of acceptance helped them be more willing to share a part of themselves with the group. This is the beauty of being accepted. Acceptance is more of an act and a behavior than a statement or declaration. The two newest students told their stories to the group, and once again, the act of acceptance was felt in the room due to intimacy, sharing, and relief that they have made it to this point of their recovery. It is often when we make ourselves vulnerable that we become more acceptable; but our ego warns us against such a foolish endeavor.
Once again, I feel blessed to work with and to be in the presence of the students of Jaywalker U.
Janet DeMars
Program Director
Jaywalker U
