Kidnapped | Teen Ink

Kidnapped MAG

By Anonymous

Here I was, barely 15 and stranded in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My cheeks were raw with tears and I was exhausted from trying to escape my two kidnappers, who pulled me out of bed at 4 a.m. and took me to Clayton, Georgia. Or that is what I kept telling myself.

Reality was, my parents hired my “kidnappers” and they were paying for my stay in Georgia. Merely accepting the fact that I had been sent to a Wilderness program was overwhelming.

“I'm cold,” I said. “Put on your pullover,” they replied, motioning to the orange sweatshirt. “I don't look good in orange.” “When you're cold enough, you'll wear it.” Needless to say, by the end of the night I was wearing the pullover. The other girls were full of grime and boy, did they smell. To my horror, no deodorant was allowed. I became obsessed with staying clean and was proud that my sweatshirt wasn't dirty compared to the other girls', which were now a shade of brown.

The weirdest experience of my life happened in a bathroom. I had been in the woods for a month. Biting into a monster carrot, my permanent retainer snapped and I was given the luxury of riding in a heated car to the dentist. Entering the building, I immediately asked to go to the restroom, excited to use a real toilet and sink. I froze in front of the mirror. I hadn't seen my image in so long that I had actually forgotten what I looked like. It sounds stupid, but when I looked in the mirror, I didn't recognize myself. I cannot explain the feeling, but it was between astonishment and downright creepiness.

Making friends with the girls who had been there the longest, I learned the ropes from the best. For example, hiking in the front of the line gives you more resting time, since you have to stop often to wait for the slow hikers to catch up. All the consequences were natural. If you didn't tend the fire, you'd be cold. If you didn't ration your food each week, you'd be hungry. I faced my fears and pushed myself to what I never imagined was possible. The external factors broke me down. For the first time, my emotional vulnerability was out in the open. When I look back on it, I miss it, yet I wouldn't want to do it ever again.



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This article has 18 comments.


Sandy Smith said...
on Jan. 23 2015 at 3:41 am
At least she didn't die as so many teenagers who were sent to wilderness program. Natural consequences in the wilderness is death if you don't get the teachings in time and there is very far to the nearest hospital if something goes wrong.

Keyonna... said...
on Jan. 21 2013 at 11:57 pm
Keyonna..., Norcross, Georgia
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You want me. I feel that."..."But I don't know why you push me away. Tell me, and I promise I'll do everything to remove the obstacle so you don't have to be afraid to love me."

-Marina, Smolder, Book 1 of the Dragon Souls series - Penelope Fletcher

I think it was more of: when you're stranded in the wild for more than a few days with no civilized source of running water or bathroom, you're bound to not recognize yourself because of the dirt and grime that accumulates. At the same time, I think she referenced a kind of internal growth that she hadn't realized she'd undergone and, hence, couldn't find the connection between who she was going in and who she was coming out.

Keyonna... said...
on Jan. 21 2013 at 11:52 pm
Keyonna..., Norcross, Georgia
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You want me. I feel that."..."But I don't know why you push me away. Tell me, and I promise I'll do everything to remove the obstacle so you don't have to be afraid to love me."

-Marina, Smolder, Book 1 of the Dragon Souls series - Penelope Fletcher

She kind of referenced it in the first paragraph.

on Dec. 6 2012 at 7:14 pm
UndefinedBeauty GOLD, Boston, Massachusetts
19 articles 4 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
“The realities of the world affected me as visions, and as visions only, while the wild ideas of the land of dreams became, in turn,—not the material of my everyday existence—but in very deed that existence utterly and solely in itself.” -Edgar A. Poe

In the story, she is saying she was forced to be in a camp, and her "Kidnappers" were the instructors. In the end, she did not notice herself, hence, people who are kidnapped for years don't get a chance to be themselves, some never get to see their reflection. Atleast, that was my understanding of the article.

on Aug. 21 2012 at 9:04 am
KnitsandPurls GOLD, Mahtomedi, Minnesota
13 articles 0 photos 83 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I cannot live without books"
--Thomas Jefferson

Well-done! I wasn't bored, even though I sometimes am in stories full of specifics. Awesome.

on Jul. 6 2012 at 5:22 pm
ClarinetPower SILVER, Macomb, Michigan
5 articles 0 photos 40 comments
Try actually reading the story before you comment!

on Nov. 9 2011 at 4:14 pm
tr3bl3grrl SILVER, Lincoln, Nebraska
8 articles 5 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Fascinating. I am being possessed by unspeakable evil." --Tweek, Avalon #7
OR... "THE HUNKY-DORY THING ZAPPED ME!!" --Trunko, Ugly Doll Show.

It's weird...I love your story, and how it leads you to believe you're being kidnapped, but...hey, people? SHE WASN'T ACTUALLY KIDNAPPED. GOT THAT? STOP ASKING WHAT IT WAS LIKE AND ALL THAT STUFF. IT IS CALLED POETIC LICENSE. SHE WENT TO A SUMMER CAMP. NOT ACTUALLY KIDNAPPED. Okay, I'm good.

on May. 4 2011 at 10:50 am
Krissy Swagger, Whitehall, Ohio
0 articles 0 photos 6 comments
This is very shocking i cant belive this and why is the story called kidnapped when you didnt even mention anything about being kidnapped

Baby Swagger said...
on May. 4 2011 at 10:01 am
OMG!!!! how did they kidnapp you like did you run at all?

Hover BRONZE said...
on Apr. 25 2011 at 6:48 pm
Hover BRONZE, Mukwonago, Wisconsin
2 articles 0 photos 85 comments

Favorite Quote:
Sophistication isn't what you wear or who you know
Or pushing people down to get you where you wanna go
They didn't teach you that in prep school, so it's up to me,
But no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity.
~Taylor Swift
*Defy Gravity!*

Great writing and great message!

epokh SILVER said...
on Jan. 27 2011 at 10:37 am
epokh SILVER, Stuart, Florida
9 articles 1 photo 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all.

-Emily Dickinson

I don't know if you really understand the point of this story ^^;;

 

I am sorry that happened, though <3


on Aug. 4 2010 at 3:27 am
Future_author SILVER, Baltimore, Maryland
9 articles 0 photos 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
Some secrets can hurt, but sometimes they keep you safe, but all secrets are found out sooner or later.

A family friends daughter got kidnapped it was so scary. She was gone for a whole month. Everyone in the family here in america pitched in to send money to our grandpa so he can give it to the father. I feel bad for anyone who gets kidnapped.

on Jun. 21 2010 at 8:47 pm
alanacarlene DIAMOND, Mexia, Texas
55 articles 15 photos 592 comments

Favorite Quote:
Silence screams too honestly and loudly.
-Alex (aka GangstaEyes)
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two equals four.
-Winston Smith '1984'
Don't go wishin' your life away...
-Daddy S2
"What a drag it was to be limited by reality."

I like this! You indeed learned a very important lesson and I'm glad someone can learn lessons like this! I liked this a lot.

on Jun. 21 2010 at 4:58 pm
EternalAlexandra BRONZE, Spring Hill, Tennessee
4 articles 0 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

it was a good lesson, good job :)

on Jun. 21 2010 at 12:58 pm
PrincessPineapple GOLD, Chesapeake, Virginia
18 articles 0 photos 46 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To love someone is to learn the song that is in their heart, and sing it to them when they have forgotten." ~unknown

this is good! i love the lesson it teaches!

on May. 8 2010 at 3:14 pm
Sketched97 PLATINUM, Silver Spring, Maryland
31 articles 4 photos 167 comments
This was so interesting! good job. I like the part where you can barely recognize yourself in the mirror.

on Nov. 9 2009 at 11:55 pm
adastraabextra GOLD, Moonstone, California
17 articles 120 photos 110 comments
amazing job, i too, have been to similar places (more than one) and know what its like. im glad it seemed to have an affect on you. great work tho!! :)

on Oct. 1 2008 at 8:20 pm
I liked it. It was really interesting but in an exiting way. Well written.