Tasha has big plans for her future

Youth Pathways helped Tasha* get enthusiastic and optimistic about her future. This is her story.

‘I was referred to Youth Pathways by my Deputy Principal at my school. He was concerned that I was not going to complete school successfully because I was being disruptive, my behaviour towards teachers was poor and I wasn’t conforming to school standards. Due to this I was suspended. I was also aware that due to my poor behaviour, I was not completing my work on time or handing it in at all.

‘On top of this, I had personal issues in my life that were affecting my performance at school and deterring me from being myself and not being able to achieve to the best of my ability.

‘I have been working with Youth Pathways for three months and through consistent goal-setting, positive feedback and ideas, and lots of encouragement, I feel that I have made a dramatic improvement at school. And there has been a definite change in my personal life.

‘My goal that we set, that needed to be addressed quite quickly, was to improve my behaviour at school. We did this by setting different strategies to help me achieve this. Strategies such as:

‘With time we have addressed each of these strategies and have seen a noticeable improvement in my behaviour.

‘I now attend a different school in my area where I feel a lot happier and comfortable with my peers. I am currently focusing on completing year 11 and 12 successfully. I have learnt how to control my actions and what I say to people, and this has enabled me to understand and show respect to others. Through this, I realise that my actions and words do affect other people’s responses to me.

‘By achieving a goal that I set, I feel better about myself and have a new outlook on life and what I want to accomplish.

‘When I came to Youth Pathways I had a low self esteem, I swore a lot, I was emotional and had a negative outlook on life. My appearance to others who don’t know me has affected the way people perceive and treat me. Because of this, I had developed the idea that people will not like me; they will think I am "weird" and not give me the opportunity to be myself.

‘Through positive reinforcement from my consultant I have been able to understand that everyone is different and everyone has different ideas and ways of dealing with diversity. I know that my appearance can make people feel uncomfortable and have learnt to be happy with myself even if others don’t understand. I respect myself and others, and feel confident in being me wherever I go.

‘Never before did I think that I would want to complete my education until I met and worked with Youth Pathways. I have now set goals for my future and feel confident in being able to achieve them: complete year 11 and 12, apply for entry into university, study acting or stage management. If I am unable to do this, I have decided that I would like to become a flight attendant and would be more than happy in achieving this.

‘I think that without the encouragement and support from Youth Pathways I would not be on my way to a successful and happy future. I am more confident in myself, I am enjoying school and have a focus for the future.’

* Not her real name.