POSTSCRIPT

We began this chapter with the story of a woman committed to transforming the lives of teenagers.Vy Higginsen founded Gospel for Teens in part tocreate a musical refuge for young people to escape their emotional turmoil. But she quickly learned that her students’ emotions couldn’t be suppressed, and that through sharing their emotions with one another they could more quickly heal their wounds of anger and grief.

How do you manage the emotional challenges of your life? Do you leaveyour baggage at the door, burying your emotions? Or do you let your baggage in, sharing your emotions with others?

The story of Vy Higginsen and her students reminds us that although we have emotions, we are not our emotions. It’s our capacity to constructively manage the emotions we experience, and communicate them in positive ways, that makes hope and goodness in our lives possible.