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VIEWPOINT OF A TEXAS CHALLENGE ACADEMY CADET
A few months ago, Texas ChalleNGe Academy was never part of my plan. I didn’t even know it existed. Now I am here, eight weeks in. I left with the choice of making a change. I can use this time to grow, or I can stay stagnant.
A little background about myself. My name is Cadet Stewart, and I am 15 years old. I am one of three and am now living with thirty-two other girls. It is a huge difference. I’m no longer a child, but I’m also not an adult. It’s like I am right there in the middle.
I came to TCA to find myself and not to always depend on someone. Right now, society has impacted teen minds in a negative way. There is so much peer pressure, not just going on in schools, but also on social media and in neighborhoods.
I had been going to public schools for most of my life but really wasn’t accomplishing much. I was just being pushed along and getting distracted. Here, the only thing that distracts me is myself or letting others’ behavior affect me, something I need to change. Finding a program like TCA is truly a blessing.
There are three platoons here. Echo is the only female platoon on campus and while, yes, we all have our ups and downs, good and bad days, we still show up as a team. The team we strive to be. Sometimes being in the bay with all of the noise helps me to see things I never realized about myself.
We are now in week eight and are a couple weeks away from Family Day. That is the day we are all eagerly awaiting. I think it will be a day that I will always remember.
