As the bombshells of my daily life explode
I don't have much time before I need to get in bed, but wanted to write a little about last night. MSNCB aired a documentary about Teen Mania, the organization I lived with a year between high school and college "Mind over Mania" #mindovermania. One of the main interviewees was there when I was there and was basically my RA. She spoke about being in recovery from the cult. She openly grieved for how her life had changed.
Some background: I was there from 1998-1999. I was involved with Teen Mania from 1993-2000. I didn't realize that Teen Mania had been harmful until 2003. Then, for about 4 years, I was Cult Girl. I saw myself as a victim. That was the "interesting fact" I used about myself in introductions. Eventually, I learned that I didn't have to live from that deep of a victim mindset.
Did Teen Mania affect me? Yes. It still does, but the waves are smaller and the consequences less. My thinking now is drastically different than it was when I was 18.
Would I change it if I could go back? I'm not sure. So much about my life now is wonderful and what I went through then brought me where I am now.
Do I think Teen Mania is a cult? Yes.
Do I think Teen Mania is bad at the core? I'm not sure.
I think that it has grown so large that it lacks accountability and has gained a focus on making money and producing numbers and results. Working in the call center was more about numbers, but there was the incentive that we were crucial in God's plan and saving souls. But the pleas for money got too loud, the fact that we paid to work there instead of Teen Mania paying us and giving us benefits, and the merchandise sold at the conventions was a little too close to the materialism they so loudly denounced.
Some background: I was there from 1998-1999. I was involved with Teen Mania from 1993-2000. I didn't realize that Teen Mania had been harmful until 2003. Then, for about 4 years, I was Cult Girl. I saw myself as a victim. That was the "interesting fact" I used about myself in introductions. Eventually, I learned that I didn't have to live from that deep of a victim mindset.
Did Teen Mania affect me? Yes. It still does, but the waves are smaller and the consequences less. My thinking now is drastically different than it was when I was 18.
Would I change it if I could go back? I'm not sure. So much about my life now is wonderful and what I went through then brought me where I am now.
Do I think Teen Mania is a cult? Yes.
Do I think Teen Mania is bad at the core? I'm not sure.
I think that it has grown so large that it lacks accountability and has gained a focus on making money and producing numbers and results. Working in the call center was more about numbers, but there was the incentive that we were crucial in God's plan and saving souls. But the pleas for money got too loud, the fact that we paid to work there instead of Teen Mania paying us and giving us benefits, and the merchandise sold at the conventions was a little too close to the materialism they so loudly denounced.