To say Polaris saved my life would truly be an understatement. Polaris not only saved my life, but showed me the power and strength in vulnerability. For over a year before coming to treatment at Polaris I found myself struggling, with crippling depression, and a substance use disorder. I had spent the year enveloped in misery, and had effectively broken my relationship with my biggest supporters; my parents. Upon arriving at Polaris, my first two weeks I told myself I had to put on a face and have my life together. I had a deep seated fear of showing my emotions, as I thought that I had to be happy.

I was given the chance to in a sense “get better”, and in my world, as a 17 year old girl, this had to be as soon as possible. However, it was not until I let go of that idea that I truly allowed myself to heal. To say that my healing journey came easy would be a lie. The thing about healing is that it takes a lot of internal hard work to do. The work at Polaris started with my individual therapy sessions, and eventually through family therapy, my relationships with my parents began to heal, but most importantly my relationship with myself began to heal as well.

Throughout my time in Polaris I began to become increasingly comfortable with being uncomfortable. Allowing myself to sit in discomfort, and just let it pass, was something I never did before Polaris, and it was truly liberating. Another key part of my journey was being able to recognize my issues with substances and come to terms with living a sober lifestyle. I attended various recovery meetings with other teenagers at Polaris, and together, we became vulnerable, shared our struggles, and started our lives in recovery from substance use disorder. It is my profound belief that having young people share a space of recovery and healing together, can create an innate sense of belonging for oneself. The community at Polaris, exemplified this idea. To be able to share my life at its most vulnerable moments, with other people like me, who had struggled at such a young age, gave me so much hope. It would be too easy to say that my life is a pure utopia now, and that I never struggle. However, Polaris provided me with the tools to know how to deal with my struggles, and it is for that reason I am eternally grateful. Polaris taught me that life gets better. And I am so happy that I am here to see it.