Comments on My Teen Mania Experience: Robin's Story

It sounds like Teen Mania puts SUCH emphasis on ph...

2012-01-31T19:41:09.047-06:00

It sounds like Teen Mania puts SUCH emphasis on physical appearance...which is a DIRECT conflict with so many of Jesus' teachings...I'm so sorry you went through that. I refuse to believe that Jesus is standing up there with some kind of cosmic heavenly scale judging us all by the number that comes up. He had nothing to say in the Gospels - ever - about anyone who was ever overweight...but He had chapters and chapters on people who treat others the way that Nikki treated you.

Nikki was a IA 98-99 and then was the curriculum d...

2012-01-26T14:26:22.545-06:00

Nikki was a IA 98-99 and then was the curriculum director or something and also the director of ACA's for a year while her husband headed Extreme camps

She was still there 02-03.

2012-01-26T03:57:31.643-06:00

She was still there 02-03.

thank you so much abby. and yeah, that talk they...

2012-01-25T21:48:25.478-06:00

thank you so much abby.

and yeah, that talk they gave my year, when ron and dave tag teammed a speech to our class about the importance of not speaking ill of them or teen mania in general and how that bred bitterness... really, all they did was shut up any legit complaints. i bring this up because i sometimes still default to that conditioning and have to make myself be truthful about who they are and not do what i was conditioned to do.

"In retrospect, I feel as though I was being ...

2012-01-25T20:01:33.522-06:00

"In retrospect, I feel as though I was being stripped of who I was and of my own desires and was being conditioned to shove my emotions and reactions and sense of injustice regarding anything done by staff or leadership."

I remember that feeling as well, and if I'm really honest there's still a place deep inside that is still stripped down naked where the voices of TM echo. Some day I will be 'me' again all the way through.

"Robin" who you are now is more beautiful than anything they could have ever moulded you into. :)

aww man johna. i know how you feel, and that's...

2012-01-25T18:17:33.999-06:00

aww man johna. i know how you feel, and that's so rough. it's like we and our loved ones have been robbed of years of who we really are, but we don't have to let that be the case any longer.

as far as when nikki was there, i was august 98-99. i don't know how long she was an IA before or after my year

--robin

In retrospect, I feel as though I was being stripp...

2012-01-25T17:58:02.699-06:00

In retrospect, I feel as though I was being stripped of who I was and of my own desires and was being conditioned to shove my emotions and reactions and sense of injustice regarding anything done by staff or leadership.

I can identify with this so much. I feel like even now i am still finding parts of myself and stuggleing to have a genuine opinion.

Robin, I am so glad that you were able to get some...

2012-01-25T13:16:16.507-06:00

Robin, I am so glad that you were able to get some better experiences with Shannon Ethridge. I wish you would have been able to have her available to you the whole year you were at TM than Nikki Bradshaw.

Out of curiosity, when was Nikki Bradshaw at TM? What years?

That's HORRIBLE!!!!! I am SO sorry!!!!! I can&...

2012-01-25T11:22:31.448-06:00

That's HORRIBLE!!!!! I am SO sorry!!!!! I can't believe she treated you like that. :( Well, I guess I can, but it boggles my mind that anyone could treat you like that. I agree that you are a far better person than she will ever even come close to being.

I hate that you were treated like this. It makes my heart hurt. :(

I am sick that someone passed her issues off as a ...

2012-01-25T10:42:51.518-06:00

I am sick that someone passed her issues off as a way to be Godly or that she was trying to force you into HER mold instead of leading you to God I hope you can find Love and grace outside of people like that

thanks, everyone, for your support

2012-01-25T10:35:25.892-06:00

thanks, everyone, for your support

2012-01-25T10:33:19.891-06:00

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"When I brought up that I thought it was unfa...

2012-01-25T10:27:46.133-06:00

"When I brought up that I thought it was unfair that everyone was snacking on M&Ms and Doritos, and I was left out, I was asked if I would react the same way if all of my friends were sinning and I was the only one not sinning. Everything was rules. Nothing was seen with the point of view of love, grace, or building relationships."

TM does not know anything about grace. The example above shows how there is a double standard. Sinning has nothing to do with this example and that is just a poor controlling woman that was put in to a position that was over her head. She tried to lead by fear and condemnation. I am very sorry she treated you this way. Nothing was your fault and nothing you did would ever be to her standard since she judge you the moment she saw you.

You are a better woman then she will ever be. You are much stronger then she will ever be. Thanks for being brave and sharing your story

Oh, Robin, I'm so sorry you had to deal with N...

2012-01-25T10:03:48.420-06:00

Oh, Robin, I'm so sorry you had to deal with Nikki so much. I hope that you are able to continue to heal and recover from your experience with her and the rest of the HA. She was such a difficult person to deal with, and I've heard so many people talk about negative experiences they had with her! When I was an intern (Jan. 2001), Nikki was one of the staff members that a lot of people couldn't stand. Thankfully, I didn't really have to deal with her until I was an ACA second semester...but that was enough for me! My one required meeting with her to talk about my room wasn't scheduled until about three weeks before we graduated (in fairness, that was probably as much my fault as it was hers. I had absolutely no desire to talk with her, and I'm pretty sure her AA had to track me down and make me schedule the meeting), but at the meeting when I talked about the difficulties I had with my room, she made me take a "team building" book and copy some exercises that I would do with my room before I graduated. Somehow, I was supposed to take a disjointed room that never really clicked and turn it into a cohesive room of BFFs in three weeks. Totally possible. Grr.

Wow this Bradshaw chick sounds like a douchebag. ...

2012-01-25T09:07:17.740-06:00

Wow this Bradshaw chick sounds like a douchebag. That's not a diet she put you on, that's torture.

* sorry... meant to say "people lose track of...

2012-01-25T08:05:34.683-06:00

* sorry... meant to say "people lose track of time" not "people they lose track of time". Too in the morning!!

Oh Robin.... thank you for speaking out.... there&...

2012-01-25T08:04:27.611-06:00

Oh Robin.... thank you for speaking out.... there's no excuse for this kind of treatment.

Reading these stories, I'm hearing over and over that during their internship people they lose track of time, cannot tell how long something lasted, don't remember, etc. Obviously it's a coping mechanism, and it's horrific how widespread it is that people have to turn off their brains to be able to survive!

Thank you again for sharing.

Sadly, this story represents Nikki exactly as I re...

2012-01-25T08:03:52.347-06:00

Sadly, this story represents Nikki exactly as I remember her. I'm so sorry you had to experience such treatment. You are a valuable child of God!