Young Adults: It's a Good Time For A Break
As I continue to visit Young Adult Programs through the country, it has become especially clear how the current generation of young adults have suffered, perhaps even more so and differently than prior generations. There are two factors that have significantly changed the landscape: technology and the pandemic. In so many ways, the digital world stunted what might have otherwise allowed for a “natural” progression of growth. Covid has also interrupted the opportunities for our young adults to investigate life and has stifled their need for a “break.”
It is often prudent, and perhaps even necessary, to take a fully immersive approach to reduce, if not eliminate, the stress and anxiety that comes with the unknown. Current challenges have made it difficult for many of our young adults to develop the resilience and confidence to jump into the “deep-end” of community living without the security of the scaffolding they grew accustomed to having hold them up. However, a wide range of programs exist that wonderfully accommodate a variety of needs: mental health, substance abuse combined with mental health, social pragmatics which serve to develop an understanding of how to “fit into a world” of expectations, and GAP opportunities which provide time and space for personal reflection and self-development.
Changes in one’s confidence and self-improvement come from experiences. It is the mission of the many programs I visit to assist young adults in discovering who they are and to guide them in identifying what have been their challenges. These programs have staff highly skilled in helping those in their care manage the array of today’s challenges which include gender identity, substance challenges, feelings of being ill-equipped to live independently on a college campus and/or having been diagnosed with mental illness. Young adults can have a safe place to work through these and other difficulties.
College may not be the best first stop. For many, it should not be the automatic “answer”. The goal is being ready and prepared. GAP Year programs are on the rise at an increasing number of high school graduates are realizing that they can defer a college application/enrollment, investing a year in their personal growth and maturation. Their journey can clear their mind and take some time to “smell the roses” through adventure, travel, volunteering, internships, and vocational opportunities.
There are many Recovery Programs specifically organized toward young adults figuring out their personal ”why” and “how” without feeling ashamed. These programs continue to help so many who have turned to substances as a substitute for “self-care”, discovering their inner strength and feeling empowered to move forward in fulfilling their hopes and dreams.
I always return home energized after spending time with the young adults I meet visiting programs and truly enjoy hearing about the progress they are making in self-discovery and personal growth. The stories of their making new friends, developing confidence, getting past “negative voices,” and learning to love themselves makes my journey with them rewarding and inspiring. It’s reassuring that there are many wonderful places for our young adults to see the world they have happened into in a new and more positive light, a future without roadblocks. The bonus for parents who have insisted there would be a promising future, is their young adult’s appreciation
and their stating it was worth the effort.