Aidan to take a course in The Netherlands

When our family friend told me about this course and offered to fundraise for me, I became very excited to travel to the Netherlands for the program listed on this link: https://humaniversity.com/workshops/tan-ju-summer-training/ Please check it out!

I have spent just about my whole life at Earthaven, and it has been amazing. Yet it has also been somewhat constricting to how I see the world. I have experienced so many things on these 300 acres that many people haven’t, like women’s red tents, sweat lodges, rites of passage, homeschool, off-grid living and more. I’ve had so many interesting conversations, as well, that woke me up to the fact that I can affect the world I live in, and that made me want to use that power instead of ignoring it. But it's also been rocky for me to stand up to my future. I've been afraid, undependable and self-critical to the max. Being diagnosed with bipolar hasn’t been easy.

Now I feel it's possible for me to better learn how to use my gifts in the Tan-ju summer program before I take the critical steps that are likely to include a full-time job and even a new place to live (hopefully still at Earthaven). The program offers meditation, martial arts and many life skills that can help me to move forward more smoothly and healthily.

The Netherlands is currently ranked 5th in the world for happiness and good mental health, so the environment is encouraging too. Also, this organization has over 40 years of success in offering programs for teenagers like me. I hope that having this adventure away from home, in such a positive environment, will help show me how to do the work on myself that I have been needing to focus on. I have been working to save money, here in the community, but I will need a lot of help to fund this journey. If you can contribute to my cause, I promise to make the best of what the program has to offer me and to keep in touch and let you know how it goes, what I’ve learned and how I’ve changed. Thank you so much for your help!