A Letter from Jenae
Hey,
My name is Jenae. Saving Our Unique Lives (SOUL) is something that came about when I was 19 years old. My friends and I were in our second year of college, and we were all struggling with different things. Learning how to pay bills, have adult relationships, questioning our faith, knowing how to take care of ourselves, all while still getting an education and figuring out what we want to do and be in life…it was hard. We all came together and just talked to each other one night, and were strengths for each other when we all felt weak. We kept each other going. So, we thought “If we would have started this months ago, we probably wouldn’t be in such a bad position”, and we did life together. We learned, fellowshipped, cried, laughed, and everything in between. Together.
We all need help. We all need people. As much as we want to accomplish everything for ourselves without needing anyone…we just do…I learned this at a much deeper level a little later, as my career started to develop and I started working with teenagers in a residential facility. By far, some of the most resilient and strongest people I know. Some of the kindest people I have ever met. Yet, some of the most dismissed people I have ever encountered. As a society, I learned that we have not found a consistent solution for youth that are legally adults, but are still need of support while transitioning into adulthood. We need to teach our young adults how to be adults and support them as they are learnig. Because our society currently has minimal resources for this population, I saw a lot of youth that were in need of support, exposed to harsh, dangerous, and even fatal realities. All of them just needing more support; needing someone to be there… After seeing this one too many times, I realized that this group that I created for personal support, was meant to be more than just for myself. It was meant for more than just my friends. It was meant to be an organization; a movement.
My faith believes that I have the opportunity to live on earth like I can live in heaven: at peace, wealthy, prosperous, full of joy, and genuinely happy with my life. Every person deserves an opportunity to make that a reality. Life is hard. Life isn’t fair, but I believe with the life we do have, we ought to use it to the fullest. So that’s what I long for. To support young adults in learning to be adults, and living a fulfilled and full life as an adult, and finding other young adults that want the same thing. By building this community; a community of young adults that achieve wholeness, mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually; I truly believe we can make a change in the world. So I will do my part to build this community, and I hope that you will too. If you’re a young adult, dig into what we have, or be a support for a friend. If you know a young adult that can benefit from this, share it, and tell them about it. If you can help with this, you should.
Collage from various SOUL events since SOUL’s first event on March 14th, 2014.