Interview for ex-WWASPS Students
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A 25 question interview of ex-students who attended WWASPS schools. Answers to each question can be found on the page links below.
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Question 23. Looking back, can you name some of your behaviors pre-program that you now realize were inappropriate or irresponsible for a young person? Do you think now that those behaviors were a ‘stage’ that you would have eventually grown out of given time or a more stable life in your family home?
"Oh yes, as a 15 year old kid I would say bad words, run away, ditch school and such. I totally know it was a stage, I was the last child left at home, I was used to having my sisters around all the time. When I was still forced to go to church, and some other personal experiences my parents would not want me to write on here, it was for sure unstable both ways. My mom told me she wished she would have home schooled me, and that we would have went to counseling as a family together more. I was a young teenage girl growing up, and had different religious beliefs than most of my family members. I pushed God out my life for thirteen years, and now I am an active member at Indian River Methodist church and am so thankful that I believe in God and my Marriage to a wonderful husband that is so faithful and a true loving soul." - J.C., Casa by the Sea
"There is no way to know for sure what would have happened, I would like to think that its something I could have grown out of, In a way I kind of did because when I graduated out of the program I went back to the drugs, sex, and alcohol, didn’t go to school. Everything I was doing pre-program and more, but its something that on my own I decided I was too good for and didn’t want in my life anymore. So yes I think its possible that it was just a stage in my life that I needed to cope with and think I could have done it without the program." - A.E., Casa by the Sea
"Absolutely. I was crying out for attention by using drugs, cutting, engaging in bulimia, and cutting school. I think that if my family gave me the love and attention I needed, I would have never turned to any of those things in the first place." - L.W., Cross Creek Manor
"Bad behaviors before Casa were marijuana and alcohol. After I got out of Casa I was a bad person. I have since met a great woman that shaped me into what I am today. I no longer do drugs and have three children. I was way worse after Casa so yes it was just a stage that I grew out of." - Anon, Casa by the Sea
"My stepfather broke my finger with a wrench when I was 14 or so so who knows about right or wrong." - D.G., Casa by the Sea & Ivy Ridge
"Oh yes definitely. I was a very inappropriate irresponsible child but not an abnormal child and I would have eventually grown out of it. It’s called growing up." - C.L., Casa by the Sea
"Experimenting with drugs and dropping out of high school. I wanted to complete high school but was having a hard time meeting the excessive standards the high school I attended had. Both of my younger siblings ended up dropping out of the same school and attended an alternative school. It was completely a phase." - Anon, Casa by the Sea
"Yes, I was dating someone my parents didn't like. The relationship definitely wasn't going to last forever, and if my parents had good communication I may have actually sat down and listened to the reasons why they didn't want me dating him instead of just forbidding the relationship altogether." - B.B., Ivy Ridge & Tranquility Bay
"YES!!! I had extremely low self esteem and anger issues, stemming largely from the emotional abuse I was experiencing at home and from personal issues in school. I would have certainly out grown it, noting that I did outgrow it following the few months in the program - and not because of what the program did, but because of my own resolution to do so (a path I was already on before being admitted)." - C.M., Tranquility Bay
"I was a pothead, that liked to party and hangout with some people who were really bad people. I know that I was a bad kid, and was out of control, but I think it was a phase. I think eventually I would have grown out of it as my other friends in NY did." - J.K., Casa by the Sea
"Yes. Running away, disrespecting authority not going to school was all a cry for help. Not only for me to be accepted by my peers but i also had issues my parents were not aware of and did not know how to get their attention...so by acting out i thought any attention was better than none." - N.R., Casa by the Sea & Midwest Academy
"I didn’t really have any bad behaviors, except for hanging out with buddies and staying out late. But even living on my own at the age of 17, I kind of got over it as I had to work every day." - A.T., Casa by the Sea
"There were many behaviors that were extremely irresponsible and inappropriate. It would of been a harder and longer road for me to grow out of them had I not gone into the program though. But yes, I would of grown out of them." - G.A., Casa by the Sea
"Yes, I definitely believe I was acting inappropriately and irresponsibly before I was sent there. I was a difficult child with emotional issues. I obviously needed some kind of mental attention, and I feel if I had been monitored appropriately, I would be healthier than I am now. Who's to say if I would have "grown out of it". However, I do believe most of the children in these institutions needed help and affection, not pain and neglect, and what they ended up getting made most of their lives far, far worse." - C.A., Casa by the Sea
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Question 23. Looking back, can you name some of your behaviors pre-program that you now realize were inappropriate or irresponsible for a young person? Do you think now that those behaviors were a ‘stage’ that you would have eventually grown out of given time or a more stable life in your family home?
"Oh yes, as a 15 year old kid I would say bad words, run away, ditch school and such. I totally know it was a stage, I was the last child left at home, I was used to having my sisters around all the time. When I was still forced to go to church, and some other personal experiences my parents would not want me to write on here, it was for sure unstable both ways. My mom told me she wished she would have home schooled me, and that we would have went to counseling as a family together more. I was a young teenage girl growing up, and had different religious beliefs than most of my family members. I pushed God out my life for thirteen years, and now I am an active member at Indian River Methodist church and am so thankful that I believe in God and my Marriage to a wonderful husband that is so faithful and a true loving soul." - J.C., Casa by the Sea
"There is no way to know for sure what would have happened, I would like to think that its something I could have grown out of, In a way I kind of did because when I graduated out of the program I went back to the drugs, sex, and alcohol, didn’t go to school. Everything I was doing pre-program and more, but its something that on my own I decided I was too good for and didn’t want in my life anymore. So yes I think its possible that it was just a stage in my life that I needed to cope with and think I could have done it without the program." - A.E., Casa by the Sea
"Absolutely. I was crying out for attention by using drugs, cutting, engaging in bulimia, and cutting school. I think that if my family gave me the love and attention I needed, I would have never turned to any of those things in the first place." - L.W., Cross Creek Manor
"Bad behaviors before Casa were marijuana and alcohol. After I got out of Casa I was a bad person. I have since met a great woman that shaped me into what I am today. I no longer do drugs and have three children. I was way worse after Casa so yes it was just a stage that I grew out of." - Anon, Casa by the Sea
"My stepfather broke my finger with a wrench when I was 14 or so so who knows about right or wrong." - D.G., Casa by the Sea & Ivy Ridge
"Oh yes definitely. I was a very inappropriate irresponsible child but not an abnormal child and I would have eventually grown out of it. It’s called growing up." - C.L., Casa by the Sea
"Experimenting with drugs and dropping out of high school. I wanted to complete high school but was having a hard time meeting the excessive standards the high school I attended had. Both of my younger siblings ended up dropping out of the same school and attended an alternative school. It was completely a phase." - Anon, Casa by the Sea
"Yes, I was dating someone my parents didn't like. The relationship definitely wasn't going to last forever, and if my parents had good communication I may have actually sat down and listened to the reasons why they didn't want me dating him instead of just forbidding the relationship altogether." - B.B., Ivy Ridge & Tranquility Bay
"YES!!! I had extremely low self esteem and anger issues, stemming largely from the emotional abuse I was experiencing at home and from personal issues in school. I would have certainly out grown it, noting that I did outgrow it following the few months in the program - and not because of what the program did, but because of my own resolution to do so (a path I was already on before being admitted)." - C.M., Tranquility Bay
"I was a pothead, that liked to party and hangout with some people who were really bad people. I know that I was a bad kid, and was out of control, but I think it was a phase. I think eventually I would have grown out of it as my other friends in NY did." - J.K., Casa by the Sea
"Yes. Running away, disrespecting authority not going to school was all a cry for help. Not only for me to be accepted by my peers but i also had issues my parents were not aware of and did not know how to get their attention...so by acting out i thought any attention was better than none." - N.R., Casa by the Sea & Midwest Academy
"I didn’t really have any bad behaviors, except for hanging out with buddies and staying out late. But even living on my own at the age of 17, I kind of got over it as I had to work every day." - A.T., Casa by the Sea
"There were many behaviors that were extremely irresponsible and inappropriate. It would of been a harder and longer road for me to grow out of them had I not gone into the program though. But yes, I would of grown out of them." - G.A., Casa by the Sea
"Yes, I definitely believe I was acting inappropriately and irresponsibly before I was sent there. I was a difficult child with emotional issues. I obviously needed some kind of mental attention, and I feel if I had been monitored appropriately, I would be healthier than I am now. Who's to say if I would have "grown out of it". However, I do believe most of the children in these institutions needed help and affection, not pain and neglect, and what they ended up getting made most of their lives far, far worse." - C.A., Casa by the Sea
