First of all, re: hard-ons for john aaron: oops, cause I meant have a hard-on for figuratively. Basically really really like.
And they told her that if she wanted to come see me she'd have to do the work assignment with me.
WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?

??
That is the most fucked up thing I have ever heard, and fortunately, the stupidest policy RMA could ever have, because it totally demystifies their coercive tactics. As you saw, when your mom called bullshit and said that you could stay home. Good for her, by the way.
My Dad and stepmom were total program parents. They loved the fucking parent workshops and thought they were amazing, whereas my mom thought that they were weird and stupid. She later apparently confided in my aunt that RMA didn't do a damn thing for me. Why she didn't tell me this is anyone's guess, since I heard it from my aunt, and not her.
It was really hard for parents to get a clue about what was going on once we broke. We all smiled and seemed so bubbly when we hung out with our families. Partially due to the indoctrination, and partially because we were just so fucking relieved to see them and be away from the school. And, in your case, even when you were given the opportunity to stay home, you decided to go back to school and finish. Finish what? Most kids didn't even get a high school diploma. The rationale to "finish" a school like that defies logic outside of that context, but within it, we say to ourselves "I wan't to finish the
program." I want to go through the summit, and I want to stand on stage at graduation. We now sought out what simultaneously terrified us, even though we were conscious of the fear and terror, we wanted to stick it out, because quitting was such a shameful thing at that school. "Go the distance!!"
I'm not, btw, saying that this was your own process regarding your decision to stay on, but rather, mine. I used to be terrified of being pulled from the school. I wanted to stay and finish. Even as early as Quest.
What exactly were we completing? Hell, that's what. We wanted our badge that had shown that we had been through all nine circles of hell. (Interesting coincidence, btw. dante's nine circles of hell... CEDU's 7 propheets + 2 workshops = 9) whoaa... ok, that's fucking weirdly synchronous. *shiver*
Although at the time, we didn't think it was our final descent, we thought it was ascension.
Another weird coincidence... do you know what type of people suffer on the ninth, worst, and deepest level of Dante's inferno?
traitors.
I am SO fucking referring to the old CEDU program as the nine circles of hell from now on. Boss!