Crossroads for Women for Women recently adopted the slogan “Remember who you wanted to be.” The phrase is used in marketing materials for the nonprofit substance abuse treatment agency. It’s on the agency’s website, and, if you live in Maine, you may have seen the phrase with a Crossroads for Women for Women logo on a magnetic bumper sticker.
The phrase itself, however, has become more than a slogan to staff and clients. It has become an inspiration, a reminder of who we are and what we can be. We recently conducted focus groups and informal surveys of staff and clients at both inpatient and outpatient levels of care to see just what the phrase means to the women. Here are some of the responses:
- When I was little I remember that I wanted to be a teacher or nurse, a mother, a cook and myself.
- I wanted to be safe and put my kids before a man… I didn’t want to be like my mom and I am.
- I was told that I could be anything I wanted to be, some days that was an astronaut, some days a garbage man. When I think about the saying I think about WHY I lost that sense of who I wanted to be… it was the drugs.
- For me the saying is a focus point, it brings me back to what I really want versus instant gratification.
- It reminds me to be grateful for who I am and what I am capable of giving back. It reminds me of the values I had before the drugs took them away.
- It reminds me to focus on who I am.
- It’s a reminder of my sobriety program and a better way of life.
- It’s a reminder that I have a second chance for a better life and can be the person I wanted to be.
- I want to be me, whatever that means.
- It’s never too late…you’re never too old…you can still be who you wanted to be.
- Drugs got in my way in the past, but now I remember who I wanted to be.
- It makes me look back at where drugs took me.
- I never knew who I wanted to be. This program helped me find me.
- It reminds me that as long as I’m happy I can make it through.
- It reminds me that I had no idea before.
- To me, it means to never forget your past and to always look positively toward the future.
- I find this statement is open. It encourages me to become the women that I’ve always wanted to be. Open-minded, willing to experience anything, good or bad, that might come along.
- That addiction took away what recovery can return. That dreams don’t die.
It should be noted that while many of the women who responded to the question are in recovery from drugs and alcohol, a number of them are not.
What does the phrase mean to you? Tell us in the comments section below.
Want a “Remember who you wanted to be” magnetic bumper sticker? Email Jen.
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