Soup of Success - "I am being the person I always wanted to be."

“The other day, we met with ES (one of the current Soup of Success students) for a work skills evaluation and goals check-in. She is thrilled that she has shown growth and improvement in a number of areas on which she's been working diligently - improved communication skills, new computer skills, better self-confidence and efficiency in production, among others. She is excited to take her new skills and confidence into a job search for work that is fulfilling and sustaining for her. 

Even better, the growth she is most proud of is her new-found ability to set and maintain healthy boundaries in her relationships. Over her lifetime she has experienced much pain in these relationships - ranging from the neglect and loneliness of being overlooked or dismissed, to the hurt and discouragement of being put down, let down, and even abused. She is saying ‘no’ more - practicing using her voice to speak up for herself and using her power of choice to remove herself from hurtful words, actions and people. And she's growing stronger all the time at sticking to it.

As she said, with tears in her eyes, and our eyes too, ‘I am being the person I always wanted to be.’”