Home Base

 As my 2 ½ year old daughter and I watched Star Wars again the other night, it occurred to me that in almost every epic science fiction, fantasy, or comic book film, all of the heroes have one thing in common. Sure, The Flash and Deadpool have cool costumes, Thor and Luke Skywalker have unique weapons, Superman and The Sentry have unparalleled strength, and Darth Vader and Batman have tragic origin stories. But as I watched the X-Wings in Star Wars depart to destroy the Death Star from the planet of Yavin IV for the 237^th time in my life, it really struck me hard that all heroes have one particular thing in common: A magnificent home base from which they depart, and, perhaps more importantly, which they return to and seek refuge in when their amazing adventures are complete.

Whether it’s The Avengers leaving Avengers Mansion, Batman riding forth from the Batcave, the rebels in Star Wars launching from Yavin IV, or Thor journeying from Asgard to Earth, each hero sets out on the adventure of overcoming their own various trials, and eventually they return to the home base from which they departed, tired and exhausted from their journey but also wiser and more skilled than when they began. No matter what walk of life or part of the world they come from, every student at Logan River has the same thing in common in that they, too, come from fantastic home bases. Although the student bears the greatest burden, similar to Frodo carrying the One Ring in The Lord of The Rings books and movies, parents metaphorically serve as their daughter or son’s own Fellowship of the Ring and walk side by side with them, providing support along their path of discovery and furnishing them with the home base to return to at the end of their grand adventure of discovery.

Logan River Academy stresses the importance of our students abiding by what we call the 5 Principles For Effective Living, which are Honesty, Respect, Accountability, Fairness, and Caring. Novelist George Moore once said, “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it”. Though the student during their time at Logan River Academy is able to search out and ascertain what they need, it’s of the utmost importance that they are able to return to their home base to find these same principles being practiced on a daily basis. Despite any chaos or discord the student may have caused in the home in the past, their home still functions to them much in the same manner that Superman retreats to his Fortress of Solitude and takes time to heal while reflecting on lessons learned and ways to process and utilize the information in order to bet met with success in his next trial and in life.

Brandon Bailey, ACMHC