There's a lad I work with at No Limits who has made a big impression on my life. I remember vividly the first time I met him - he was listening to The Moody Blues which is a bit unusual for a 13 year old in 2005. Over the years I've worked with him I've grown to respect him hugely for his strength of mind, his tenacity to not give in and give up when times have been hard, and his unwavering sense of identity which he has struck true to.
It's not always been easy to work with him though, there have been times when I've left for the day and have literally sat in my car with my head on the steering wheel sobbing. I've been scared that I would go in the next week and find out his overdose had been successful this time, or that a cut went just that bit too deep....
Despite that though, I wouldn't swap a minute of the time I have spent working with him. I've learnt so much professionally and personally from him and the work we've done together which has shaped me into the counsellor and youth worker I am becoming.
He's moving away now to start life anew in a different part of the country. I'm so happy for him that he's doing this; that he's got to a place where he's able to do this and to look forward with his life. I will miss him hugely both as a youth worker and as a person. But I'm not watching him go with a sense of sorrow or of worry. He's done more work to help himself than I think he will ever fully realise and is truly one of the strongest people I've had the good fortune to meet.
Where ever his path leads him in the future, I hope it's a happy one. He deserves that so very much.
