
12/06/2023
18 years ago, I was faced with two choices: keep using and potentially spend years of my life behind bars or get sober and get back to the girl I once was. 12/2/2005
I've always been a rule follower.
I've always been the first to welcome a newcomer.
I've always jumped head first into love.
I've always been the strongest defender of my friends.
I've always been a giver.
Drugs made me ignore the rules.
Drugs made me weary of new people.
Drugs made me think I was loved for what I could offer.
Drugs ended my friendships.
Drugs made me selfish.
Drugs strip away who you really are and turn you into someone you don't recognize.
Today, 18 years later, I am finally back to myself and I valued friendship, love, and order. I hurt for the 16 year old version of myself that was so broken, hurt, confused, and grief stricken that she turned to drugs for some sort of relief.
Today, I stand tall so that others may see that teen drug abuse exists but it doesn't have to be how your story ends. There is a way out and drugs don't have to be the way you cope with the struggles of your teen years or beyond.