Beth’s Story  “At Inspire I like doing the different activities which I won’t be able to do at home”

“I’m Beth, I’m 18 years old, and I’ve been attending Inspire for six years. I joined the Youth Zone to meet new friends and to build my confidence because I had low self-esteem. I used to not have many friends. I didn’t go out, I just always wanted to stay in my room, and I wouldn’t speak to anybody. Six years later I’m more confident and I speak to new people now, which I enjoy.

At Inspire I like doing the different activities which I won’t be able to do at home. One day I was in the art room, and they were all doing clay. I wanted to try it but felt like I couldn’t as it’s too classy. But then I did it and absolutely loved it. I was really proud of what I made. A few years back I did morris dancing with Inspire which was really good because we went to competitions. I’ve also been on lots of different residentials, but overall the best thing that I’ve done with Inspire is Snowcamp because it’s given me loads of different opportunities which I would never have been able to do.

Snowcamp is a charity which teaches skiing and snowboarding to people who may not have had the opportunity to try in otherwise. It is a year-long programme where you learn new skills and meet new people.

Inspire has changed me because my confidence has grown massively, and I have found a hobby which I really enjoy. Overall, it’s helped with organising my time because I had to wake up early in the morning to get to chill factor. It’s helped me with going to work early as well because I’ve now got a sleeping pattern so I can wake up easier now. I feel like I’m more organised and I always make sure that my time keeping is good now as well. I’d like to become a snowboarding instructor ”