A MESSAGE FROM YOUR - NCWSA€¦ · Web viewI was dragged to my first Alateen meeting a few days later by my ... I felt there was nowhere to turn to during my darkest hours—which

A MESSAGE FROM YOUR “ALATEEN EXPRESS” EDITOR

I have a wonderful and heart warming collection of sharings from Alateen and Al-Anon members from Northern California to share with you in this issue. I have gathered most of them from teens attending the NoCAC bashes in our area this summer and several have been submitted by email. I look forward to receiving more sharings from you for future issues.

The Alateen Express is your newsletter. Please send me your poems, drawings, stories, and thoughts on how Alateen has helped you

Keep those sharings coming!

In This IssueA Message From Your Editor Page 1Current Events Page 1Sharings From NCWSA Alateens Page 2Sponsor’s AMAIS’s Corner Page 6Alateen Talk Page 6Tools For Your Tool Box Page 7Just For Fun Page 7

CURRENT EVENTSThese events abide by the NCWSA requirements for Alateen Safety.

NoCAC’s Last Chance Sock HopSaturday, October 27, 2012 - 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Grace Lutheran Church1836 B Street, Hayward, CA 94541Suggested donation: Al-Anon $10 Alateen $7

NoCAC 2012 November 9-11Modesto, CA125-160 if paid before

10/27/2012.Need financial assistance, just ask!

Additional information can be found at http://www.ncwsa.org/events/5994/nocac/http://www.ncwsa.org/Flyers/Event_20121109_NoCAC_reg.pdf for your 2012 NoCAC registration packet. Early registration deadline is 10/27/12!

31th Growing Together WeekendSAVE THE DATE

May 17, 18 & 19, 2012 Westminster Woods, Occidental [email protected] or vfa115

[email protected]

1“One thing we can be sure of if we do our best today, our tomorrows will certainly be better than our yesterdays.”

Alcoholism, The Family Disease

http://www.ncwsa.org/Flyers/Event_20121109_NoCAC_reg.pdf



http://www.ncwsa.org/events/5994/nocac/

SHARINGS FROM ALATEENS& FORMER ALATEENS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

NoCAC Bash- Camping Trip #2- Castro Valley

C B-San Jose Age 19Alateen has absolutely changed

my life. No matter how I’ve felt before a meeting all the problems I had go out the window. All of you let me know that I am not alone and that I’m here for a reason. When I feel alone and any person that I may need to talk to will take the time to talk to me. All of you that I don’t even know, I want to thank you for being there for me. You have been there for me because you helped someone else. Don’t stop helping other because what you do for them you are doing for someone else without even knowing it. So speak-up, talk to someone and keep coming back. XOXO☮

NoCAC Bash- Camping Trip #1-Livermore

M J TAlateen has changed my life. After

years of being apart of something so awesome I feel so stupid that I haven’t come back in so long. My life was sad and completely unmanageable with my step dad’s abuse and my mother’s lack of concern. I really did feel alone. That was when I got in trouble at school and my mom made me go to Alateen. That was the best thing she has done for me. God

lead me here. He made sure that I knew he was on my side. After years of practice and growing together with my Alateen family I was given the strength to finally take charge of my own life and my own body. I left the abuse and the sadness behind and I barley had to lift a finger. I feel that God, my higher power, took charge of my life after I finally learned to Let Go & Let God. Everything fell into place. I look at me and my mother now and find that this is the family I would always wish I had. I am a new person. I am a stronger person and I have never been so proud of myself. I have never been so thankful for something like I am for Alateen. Today is my first day as an Al-Anon. Last night was my last night as an Alateen. The people around me, Alateens and Al-Anons have comforted me in my emotional transition and all of them have no idea how complete and whole that made me. Instead of crying because of it being the end, I smile because the people at the Bash, my family, remind me that it’s only the beginning. I haven’t been to Alateen in years and my life has become unmanageable again. So has my fellow Alateen friend that I have grown up with in the program. We both needed to come back. We both were lost and now that we are finally here, we remember what it is like to feel happy and united with people we love. We have made a pack never to leave the program again. I wouldn’t want to spend my 21st birthday any other way.

This is the best experience ever. I can’t thank Alateen enough. I love you.

Omar As Alateens, and as people, we are

always seeking to be validated and to be told that we matter. That’s what I was looking for when I first got here. But what I got was far greater, I learned to validate myself and I was able to tell myself I do matter! Here in Alateen we love you until you learn to love yourself, and we will keep



on loving you! I hope that you find what you are looking for in Alateen, and keep coming back!!!Love Omar

S…..Oh Alateen, my life-savor. I remember

starting Alateen at twelve years old not knowing what I was getting into or what I was already in. My meeting was a fun and lax meeting. Cross talk would get hectic but we younger kids understand when it was appropriate for comments which is kinda weird. One Thursday night meeting two other Alateens came to our meeting to share about the functions that go on and that was the day that really changed my experience. I ended up going to a fundraiser and meeting a lot of people who I now call best friends. I started going to all the functions and meeting everyone. It was great. I realized why I’m in these meetings and I became smarter in my home life. Things stopped being so stressful and hectic and I couldn’t wait to go to my meeting. I’ve never had too much motivation to do anything before Alateen.

I guess what I’m really trying to say is that Alateen has done so much for me. I learned not just how to deal with the alcoholic in my family but how to deal with my emotions. A way to channel it not in negative ways. Like I said before Alateen in my Life Savor.

An Alateen Shares- Received by email

MelodyWithout Alateen, I would've had no one. My Alateen friends were my family that got me through everything! When I felt like there was nothing left in this world for me, and I didn't belong anywhere, I just had to go to a meeting and I knew things would get better. I was just a teen who had to grow up too fast, and too alone. Alateen literally saved my life, more than once, just by surrounding me with love I'd never known

before, and my Alateen friends always knew when to call or show up. I can't thank my sponsor enough for giving us the opportunity to find love, hope, and friendship like none of us had ever known before!

My Dad was my "Qualifier" as we called it, and his temper alone was enough to make life miserable for my Mom & me, but the drinking only intensified it, A LOT! I remember hiding holes in the wall with picture frames, and re-arranging furniture to cover holes in the wall. I have scars up and down my back from belt buckles, had a spiked logging boot thrown at me, I ducked and it went COMPLETELY through our dishwasher! Hearing my Mom scream was what I hated most, so I would run out and let him take out his anger on me instead.

I put a gun to my head when I was 12. I was dragged to my first Alateen meeting a few days later by my best friend. Although I didn't speak of any of what happened in my life for a long time, when I did, I cried and cried. It was so nice to have someone to listen, and people who understood! A few years later, CPS removed me from my home, and my Alateen family was there every step of the way.

I graduated high school at 17 and moved in with the man who is now my husband. My Dad and I now actually are closer then ever! I understand that he has a disease. I don't blame my Mom for her Diabetes sugar lows, so I must look at it the same way with him. My husband was an alcoholic when I met him, but he has been sober for 2 1/2 years now. They say we are attracted to the familiar, I'm very proud of my husband, but I know I have the tools to understand how to deal with it if he slips up, all thanks to Alateen.

I became a much stronger person through the wisdom I gained from others I met through Alateen. Traveling to meet other people who knew exactly what kind of



pain I had felt, and what kind of obstacles I had overcome, gave me a greater sense of unison with everyone I met, and I continue to keep in contact with those I met through my Alateen family. I thank my Higher Power every day for the opportunity to have been involved with such amazing people! They impacted my life in great ways, and have given me the values and strength I apply in my everyday life. I can't say thank you enough! I wouldn't be here today, let alone be who I am today, if it wasn't for Alateen and my Alateen sponsor! :)

NCWSA District Alateen Member

I found Alateen over two years ago as of June 2010, and am forever grateful that I have. Without it I cannot be certain that I would still be alive today. My father is the alcoholic in my life and my mother died when I was three years old, due to chronic alcoholism, so I never truly got to know her. Despite my father finding sobriety eight months before I discovered Alateen, I was a lost soul. Rather then living, I was barely surviving in my own skin. There have been chapters in my life where I felt I just could not keep going—or so I was telling myself. I merely just bottled all of these negative thoughts for years as it continuously ate away at my soul and the abyss in my heart grew as my progressive depression more and more defined me. I felt there was nowhere to turn to during my darkest hours—which I had to face what was ailing me myself. Alone, I didn’t have the strength to do so and I just got weaker and weaker.

Being in this gloomy state of mind isolated me from others at school and just in general. And given that I was a people person, I had a negative outlet upon people my age and life altogether. How could I have a positive outlet on others if I didn’t have a positive outlet on myself? This supports what one of my Alateen sponsors said, “You can’t love someone else without

first loving yourself.” If you aren’t entirely sure whether to believe it or not, take it from me, it’s a fact; I am a living example. It was not until I got that idea in my head that I can have compassion for others, and when that happened I suddenly started feeling some happiness; an emotion that was obscene to me for many years.

I love this program with all my heart and all of those who have been “privileged to enjoy” this with me. Without the tools I have acquired through this fellowship, I would not be able to stop and look at the things I’m grateful for and to cherish the good times that have had, especially when I perceive that hell has broken loose to reek havoc on my life. There is no arguing that there have been hard times in my life, and only being seventeen years old, there have been more people dropping dead who have been close to me then there should be for someone my age and finding out that some of my friends are getting hooked on heavy drugs like meth and heroin just terrifies me.

2012 has been a tough year for me especially in terms of people dying who were close to me. Two people whom I cared about have died—both as a result of substance abuse. The second death was a friend of mine as a result of a heroin overdose. What hit me hard about this was we were there for each other—we would talk to one another when the other was going through hard times. He helped me get through my step-mom’s friend’s death and I will forever be grateful for him supporting me that ordeal. I am still digesting the fact that I will never see him again. Every time I hear the song Wish You Were Here, it brings back the emotions of losing loved ones. At the same time it is one of my favorite songs because of how deep it is. There is a point I must detach from him: it does not do me any good to dwell, and he made his ill-fated choice to end his life. It may sound kind of harsh, but that is the reality and I must move on with



my life. If I didn’t pick up the coping skills that I have from Alateen, somewhere along the road that would have probably been me as well.

Just a few days before that tragedy I went to my first NoCAC Bash in Castro Valley with a friend I met over the summer and I had a blast with other fellow Alateens. Almost a month before, I went to my first NoCAC event ever and met some truly genuinely wonderful people who were my age, imagine that. When that was over, I was literally counting the days until the Bash and now am counting and waiting for the next one! Once you go to one of these events, you don’t know how you went without it. At these events, I felt the warmth and love I have never experienced. I can almost guarantee that you will not experience this level of love and affection from a group of teens outside of the program. From what I can see, my Higher Power selected those truly genuine individuals whom in my eyes are some of the kindest, most compassionate teen on the planet and to have us all in one place is truly special. Words can’t describe it to the extent of how terrific it was to be there. I have had dreams about seeing them again multiple times; unlike most dreams this one is actually tangible. I can’t say this about like friends at school or anywhere else. NoCAC events are famous for exchanging hugs and having irrevocable friendships develop to the point it surpasses that of those in your daily life.

I’m glad my Higher Power sent me to the Bash; in addition to the love and friendship it carries, it made me grateful to be alive today before the major letdown of my friend’s death. As a matter of fact I exercised talking to someone else—I talked to one of the fellow teens from the Bash and I just unloaded. I had taken a shot in the dark on who I picked to talk to—to find out that he has also experienced losing a good friend to suicide as well. The empathy

I got brought my sadness down to a level that I was able to sleep, knowing that I’m not alone and if we were face to face he would be hugging me. Knowing that you are not alone gives one consolation that can be lifesaving in the long run. This experience has made me thankful to the program to a new level. If you don’t feel the power of the program right away that is okay, but there will be a point when you are in utter despair and if you turn to someone whom you love and trust, I guarantee that you will feel the positive impact of the program grow within you—I promise. When you reach this point there is without a doubt no turning back. You are bounded for life.

I owe it to Alateen for making the profound difference in my life that it has. It has given me the strength to surpass the hardships and struggles that I have faced over the last couple of years and to come out on the other side. I now have access to help, love, and understanding. And with it I can experience serenity despite what life throws at me. I recently took my daily reader to school and I do a reading with one of my teachers, who have experienced the impact of the family disease as well, every morning before school as school is the source of my stress; therefore, I saw fitting to have it at the source itself. If I have a bad day, at the very least I can start it out on the right foot. The more I have implemented the program in my life the less grim things seem to be. I can ask myself, “How important is it?” With the experiences I have had and Alateen to support me, I have the strength and hope to carry on which is something I could not say a couple of years ago. I have Alateen to thank for saving my life—for giving me the insight that life is worth living and that I have a future to look forward to, which is why I close with this: Keep coming back, it works!



SPONSOR’S & AMIAS CORNERWritten for and read at the NCWSA

2012 Sponsors R&R Weekendby Jeff G., 2012 NoCAC Sponsor ~

Not a Tug Of WarNoCAC is nearThree days a yearEvery yearMaking it clearSerenity’s nearAnd offering hopeWe can let go of the rope.NoCAC is ComingNoCAC is coming, so don’t sit there humming. Register early, or the Committee gets “squirrelly.” Surprises they’ve planned, none will be bland. The teens run the show - just so you know! Now Sponsors relax - it’s only NoCAC.Friday night dinner and slide show’s a winner. Talents they’ll share with people who care. Saturday’s breakfast is sound and workshops profound. A fine lunch buffet, time follows to play. Then dinner is fancy, a banquet’s not chancy.Speakers that follow, with hearts full, not hollow. Then dancing all night, doing it right. Sunday there’s brunch, much more than a munch. Elections are run, for the NoCAC to come. Good-byes are teary, to friends we love dearly.So NoCAC returns, the candle still burns.Thanks to the teens, who really are keen.They need you to join them, this year again.Show them you care, by just being there.

Bring some teens to NoCAC, for a bountiful payback.And a recovery weekend, offering serenity without end.~ Gratefully in service, your Serenity

Maintenance CompanySHARING FROM ALATEEN TALK

Excerpt from Volumes 49 or 50Used with permission from Alateen Talk

I am responsible for my feelingsD.N. Al-Anon and Alateen have helped me a lot. I didn’t want to come at first. I didn’t think it would help me at all. But little did I know—it has helped me a lot. I learned about the Twelve Steps and how to deal with my family members, especially those who are alcoholics. I learned to turn to a Higher Power. I like Alateen because I can be myself, and I have peers who have been through the same things. I know I am not alone in my feelings. I came to Alateen and learned how to better deal with my dad drinking every day. As I attended more meetings, I got better at controlling my anger, and I feel I am a better person. I say, “No one can get me mad, sad, or angry unless I give them permission.”

How Alateen HelpsKathleenAlateen has helped me be more open when I am with people. Also, Alateen has opened my eyes to understand alcoholics. Most importantly, I am learning to help myself live a better life.AnonymousAlateen has affected my life in many ways. When I was first introduced to Alateen I didn’t understand it. Now I know I have options. One of the slogans I use most often is “How Important Is It?” If something happens and I want to react, I ask myself: “How Important Is It?” This helps me pause and think about it differently. Since coming



to Alateen my life and attitude have been better. I know I need to keep working my program.

TOOLS FOR YOUR TOOL BOX FROM THE WSO & NCWSA

The Northern California World Service Area (NCWSA) also has great tools to help members Alateen.

Looking for information about an event, flyer, and registration forms http://www.ncwsa.org/events-calendar/

Looking for the Alateen Expresshttp://www.ncwsa.org/newsletters/

Information on Alateen-Find a meeting, Safety Requirements, Information on starting a meeting, and forms, forms and more forms.http://www.ncwsa.org/alateen/

Locate an Alateen or Al-Anon Meetinghttp://www.ncwsa.org/meetings/

The World Service Organization (WSO) has many great tools to help members Alateen. If you are feeling lonely, sad, frustrated, confused and feel alone AND you can get on to the internet you will find that you are not alone. Check this out:

Listen to teens talk about Alateen http://www.al-anon.org/members-and-professionals-talk-about-alateen

What Alateen means to me: a letter to parentshttp://www.al-anon.org/an-alateen-letter

Read Alateen stories http://www.al-anon.org/for-teens

Alateen literature http://www.al-anon.org/alateen-literature

JUST FOR FUNWORD SEARCH PUZZLE

Find these words in the puzzle on page 8.The words appear more than one and are not backwards, and appear diagonally too.The answers will appear in the next issue.

AcceptanceCourage

DetachmentFamilyForgive

GratitudeGrowthHonest

HumilityInventory

LearnListenLove

OpennessParticipation

SerenitySlogans

SpiritualitySteps

Traditions

Solution to the Spring 2012 Issue



http://www.al-anon.org/alateen-literature

http://www.al-anon.org/alateen-literature

http://www.al-anon.org/for-teens

http://www.al-anon.org/for-teens

http://www.al-anon.org/an-alateen-letter



http://www.al-anon.org/members-and-professionals-talk-about-alateen







Documents

A MESSAGE FROM YOUR - NCWSA€¦ · Web viewI was dragged to my first Alateen meeting a few days later by my ... I felt there was nowhere to turn to during my darkest hours—which