What is REDy 2 SOAR?
REDy 2 SOAR is the brainchild of years of determining how I will walk in my purpose. During my second year working as a school psychologist, I developed a social skills group for some of the girls at my middle school. This group was set up to encourage them to be their best self and truly appreciate the individual they will become.
During that year, I was able to see how each girl became more comfortable with themselves and even learned how to cope with the varying emotions that come along with being a tween. Middle school can be a very difficult time and trying to balance school, family and the wide range of emotions and hormones can be a lot for any person. I was so excited to see how these girls took the skills we discussed in the group and applied them to their own lives.
While I continue to fine tune the development of my program, I realized that I can’t ask the girls to do something that I am not willing to do myself. I continue to challenge myself to grow in every area that I will be discussing with the tweens.
In addition to being part of the overall vision, there are seven focal points of the REDy2SOAR I Am mentoring program.
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Remember My Story: In order to embrace your story, you have to willingly accept your story and what you have been through. Life is full of ups and downs but everything you go through is not only for you to grow but to also help someone else.
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Educate and Serve: Passion is a strong and barely controllable emotion. What is that thing that you just have to do each day that brings you joy?
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Dare to be Different: Adolescence is typically a time when everyone wants to follow a trend and be accepted. But it is important to find that thing that will set you apart.
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Support Each Other: Find a circle of friends who will encourage you to reach your goals but at the same time, encourage your friends. Everyone needs a group who you can count on to challenge you and give you feedback, even when it hurts.
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Overcome Adversity: Everything can’t be raindrops and unicorns; so how do you handle those tough life situations.
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Achieve Success: What does success look like for you? College may not be for you so do you have a plan for your next step. Determine what your plan is and make the appropriate steps to achieve your goals.
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Recognize My Worth: Realize that every person has a unique set of skills and talents that cannot be duplicate. There can only be ONE YOU!!! You are valuable and deserve to be loved and respected.