There comes a point where you realize you don’t just want to grow older — you want to grow wiser. You want to step into adulthood prepared, capable, and confident instead of uncertain and overwhelmed.

I’m so excited to share that at seventeen, I’ve been accepted into The Art of Living Residency, also called The Preparation — a highly intentional program for just ten young women who want to build real skills, strong character, and a thoughtful foundation for adulthood.

This isn’t just a summer experience. It’s training for real life. It’s all about intentionally preparing for adulthood — learning practical skills such as:

✨ Cooking with confidence: We’ll train with a professional chef who spent over a decade cooking in France and learn how food actually works — not by memorizing recipes, but by understanding proteins, vegetables, timing, etc., so we can cook with intuition and creativity, making it a fun adventure instead of a monotonous task. Since most people cook over 26,000 meals in a lifetime, mastering this skill now changes thousands of everyday moments later!

✨ Hospitality and event planning: An expert with over 30 years of experience serving high-end clients in Los Angeles with million-dollar budgets (including planning events for the Ritz-Carlton!) will teach us skills from budgeting logistics to creative execution, not only equipping me to host beautiful gatherings but also teaching me the behind-the-scenes skills needed to plan and execute events in the future.

✨ Strength building: We’ll build strength through a ton of physical activities like ballet, boxing, surfing, Pilates, and weight training so that we can develop body awareness, posture, and lasting confidence.

✨ Personalized classes on self-care and personal presence: We’ll cover everything from skincare, haircare, and wardrobe styling, to poise, personal responsibility, and communication skills — a holistic approach that’ll develop us into polished, well-rounded women.

✨ Living in community: I’ll also be living in community with the other nine young women, sharing in growth, adventures, and meals (which we’ll cook in rotating teams throughout the course), while exploring Southern California and learning all these skills!

The total cost is $3,800. I am actively working to contribute through babysitting, pet sitting, retail, and other jobs because I’m deeply committed to being part of this. I truly believe this experience will shape the trajectory of my life.

Your support means more than just funding a program — it means stepping into my future with confidence because I know I’m not doing it alone.

With love,

Shantel