O ra barely out of high school showed up on Retorno’s campus one day asking for help. She had no appointment and no clue whom she needed to speak to. This together with the distance she traveled to get to Retorno spoke of her desperation.
We sat outdoors in a small gazebo that faces a tall rocky hill and further on a mountain that seems to kiss the sky. While I was invigorated by the fresh air and the view Ora slumped on the bench.
Her story was filled with the pain of rejection. Ora never felt like she belonged anywhere. She was sure no one liked her and equally sure it was her fault because she was unlikable. Her parents she supposed tolerated her because they had no choice but she felt no love no warmth no connection. She wanted to get married in order to leave home but she was certain that no one would want her.
In her eyes she lacked wit ambition and sparkle; she said she had the personality of a doorknob. Isolated from everyone she turned to alcohol and engaged in several behaviors that went against her values and her Bais Yaakov upbringing.
