Teen Stories
These are real stories told by real people who wanted to share their experiences with other youth and families.  This
is a new page for the Teenline and if you would like to submit your story to be placed on our site, please e-mail it to us
at askateen@adhl.org.  We would like to ask that you include your age and the city you live in, that's it.  No other personal
information is needed.  We also ask that you respect those who are struggling with addiction.  Youth and families come
to our site for help and recommendations for resources.  We take this work seriously and would expect any stories being
submitted are real life stories about addiction, personal struggles, hope, and ultimately figuring out who you are as a
person.  We appreciate your genuine honesty, thank you. 


Where’s my life going?  What’s my purpose in life?  Why is it always, ALWAYS me? When I was nine my parents dated a lot,
my mom got married to a dealer and abuser who “loved us for our money” or lack there of…he always came home drunk or
stoned, when he got home, he beat us for fun.  I never knew the point of drinking and using, he always did it in front of us, and
it looked like so much fun and made him so happy.  So I tried drinking.  At the age of nine I became an alcoholic, I always wanted
more alcohol and to try different things.  When I was ten, I was addicted to weed, speed, and acid.  My friends thought I was so
fantastic.

On one of my trips I went crazy.  The walls came in, I heard voices, I looked out the window and saw a man, dragging a little girl
across my yard by her hair, the little girl was dead…you could tell.  He was walking right at me with a smile on his face that would
have sent chills down your spine.  I screamed so loud the neighbors could hear me.  I tried to get to the phone, but the floor was
caving into a black hole of nothing, while the phone floated farther and farther away from me.  My heart was speeding, I couldn’t
see, walk or talk straight.  I collapsed to the ground forgetting how to breathe, and a few days later woke up in the hospital.  I had,
had a heart attack, it was mild but I was so young it could have been fatal.

One morning I woke up and realized I had no friends left.  I had become a two faced, lying, cheating, no-future, nobody.  My life
changed dramatically for the better, but not enough, I was still doing drugs, and drinking excessively.  My only friends were dealers,
the true friends I once had left me and I didn’t even know or care!  I tried desperately to get my old friends back, to be the person I
used to be, but they couldn’t trust me anymore.  When I was finally able to say “ok, I’m an addict” and admit it to myself, I was finally
able to quit and become a better, healthier person. 

When I look back on my use, I get so ashamed of myself for the people I had hurt.  I got over twenty people addicted to some drug,
and over fifty people, I’m sure; hurt in some way or another by the way I treated them because they tried to help me. 

Drugs play out to be some cool hip thing that you should do to fit in and be someone special, but the thing is, how can it be cool to
tear your body apart and kill yourself faster?  How can it help your future or answer your questions about life?  The questions I asked
myself in the beginning have answers now because I’ve grown up and matured.

My life is going the right direction; my purpose is to be a drug counselor to people who need me as much as I needed someone. 
Now that I can look back I see it’s not always me, other people go through stuff too, and as soon as I realized that I became less
selfish and more independent.

I can’t say I don’t still want drugs, I crave them every so often and sometimes it’s too much to bear that I just break down and cry,
but they’re not worth losing all the achievements I’ve made.  I can stay away from using because I have a strong will and a stubborn
heart that will get me through my hard times.  Not everyone’s that lucky.  People say “oh I can quit whenever” or “no really I’m not
addicted” but once you’ve admitted it to yourself then you can finally overcome your addictions.  I’m proud to say I’m a non-user for
over a year now. -  age 14, Woodinville, Washington.