Posted 5/9/01 Words from one whose eyes were opened in time To the editor and Anthony, William and James: I read your article in the Post Review on the ěAlternatives program.î I watch talk shows now and then and I have seen these programs on there for other states. They seem to have a great effect on kids. I sat back and thought to myself why doesnít Minnesota have a program like this? See, I myself came from a family of alcohol, parents divorced when I was only five. I did a lot of drugs and drank a lot of alcohol starting when I was 11. My mom did the best she could but she had to work a lot so we had what we needed. What she didnít know was I felt so lost and alone for so many years. I was the type that kept everything all bottled up inside. I thought I would deal with it my own way. I am the youngest in my family. I saw a lot of kids way more screwed up than me. I had friends kills themselves. Iíve seen kids do a lot of drugs and drink very heavily to the point where I thought they werenít going to wake up. I think back to those days now and think, if they had a program like they do today, would I have straightened up faster? Would some of those other kids have straightened up? Yes, I think so. It would have scared the crap out of me. When youíre young you think nothing can happen to you. You think somebody will always come to your rescue. Or you just donít care until itís too late. I believe when youíre young you tend to act before you think. This is especially true if you are a very angry person and have bottled all your emotions up inside. Then tack on if you never got love, a hug, a praise, etc. I would never make excuses for someone killing someone or any other crime cause we are responsible for our own actions. But if there are programs that are out there to stop the people that canít control their actions because of drugs, alcohol, abuse, no love, no attention, Iím all for it. If it can stop just one kid from killing themselves or killing someone else and can put that kid on the right track to a good life, GREAT. God put us here for a reason. I believe to take care of each other and to learn a lot of lessons along the way. I now am a mother of two and have a healthy marriage. We are there for our kids and hope they will talk to us when they are older about anything as they do now. We are very aware that anything can happen even if you come from a stable home with two parents that are always there for their kids. Communication, love, praise, discipline, TIME and a hug can go a long way in a childís life. I believe these things need to be constantly done no matter how busy our lives get. Good luck to those on the road to the right place cause if youíre walking down the wrong road turn around and run back, itís not worth it. I was lucky, I woke up and turned around and ran back as fast as I could. It felt like I was never going to get off that road and even a few times I wanted to turn around, but didnít, I kept going and Iím glad I did. Life is beautiful, donít take it for granted! God Bless us all J ©Post Review