Jasmine's Story

Jasmines

KEYSTONE MEMBER, 2020 YOUTH OF THE YEAR NOMINEE "The Club took my hand and picked me back up."

My journey started when I was invited to the Club for the 2016 Keystone kickoff. As I walked down the hall and saw a lot of teens I didn’t know, I began to feel hesitant about my decision to be involved. My last experience in another community, before I moved to Bristol, was unforgettable, and not in a good way. I was bullied for my weight. I was bullied for my personality and for acting like “a white girl”. I never understood what that meant. I didn’t have a core group of friends to turn to and I felt alone. I remember taking a deep breath and telling myself, “Just do it.” I opened the Teen Center door. Little did I know, I opened the door to my future. Keystone isn’t just a group of friends; they’re my family. Keystone has given me the ability to step out of my comfort zone more and more each year, helping me as well as encouraging me to improve who I am as a person. The Club has made me more confident and helped me develop many skills, such as being efficient, setting and achieving goals, and helping others. I am always motivated to accomplish new tasks and challenges that come my way. I found myself spending the majority of my time volunteering and getting involved in my school environment, and in the process, I met new peers that have the same energetic mentality. Until this day the Club has always been my number one life-changing experience. It’s always a positive environment and people I met saw potential in me that made me feel special, important, and that I am enough. It's hard for me to believe that I am good enough to meet certain standards, but coming into the Club filled up most of the holes I had in my heart. My journey excelled when I first got into Keystone, then later by becoming the Vice President for two years. Now I am President of Keystone my senior year, which led me to now work at the main Club and I am able to enjoy my job that I love unconditionally. As a Youth Development Professional I have the opportunity to inspire our Club kids first hand. The Club literally brought my personality to life. I always felt that I was energetic and happy until I was bullied. It brought me down. My spirit was shattered. The Club took my hand and picked me back up. It gave me a second chance to develop my character.