Teen gives straight talk on addiction

By Danielle Strenke
A teen recently came to talk with fifth graders at North Branch Middle School, providing students with information about addiction and the reality of alcohol and other drug use. She let them know it can happen to anyone, anywhere. This is her story.
It started with alcohol, consuming a few drinks at weekend parties. Along with that went smoking cigarettes, then progressing to marijuana, then snorting cocaine and using methamphetamines.
From there, the teen spiraled through years of addiction, treatment and relapse before committing to a life of sobriety.
Last week, Diana (not her real name) told fifth graders at North Branch Middle School that she wishes someone had stopped her before she hurt herself and the relationships she has with her family.
She told the group that she wanted to stay away from alcohol, growing up with alcoholism in her family.
ìI spent three years of middle school sad and depressed and not ever wanting to go home,î she said.
Things were a little better when her family member quit drinking when Diana was 12, but a couple of years later, she searched for ways to fit in.
ìI wasnít unpopular, I had a core group of friends. But I wanted to fit in with the popular crowd,î she said.
The only way to do that, she believed, was to start going to parties where everyone was drinking. ìAt first, I would just go to hang out with everyone and not drink. Then I started getting drunk at parties, just on the weekends.î
She said her low self-esteem made her believe that getting drunk at parties would make her popular. ìI was getting drunk every weekend. I realized I was turning out like my father and I didnít want to do that,î she said.
As Diana turned away from alcohol she discovered marijuana. ìI started smoking it just on the weekends and naively thought I didnít have a problem,î she said.
From there, it progressed into a cycle of smoking pot after school, and soon skipping school to get high on a regular basis.
Once a good athlete who competed in extracurricular activities, Diana realized the drugs were hurting her athletic ability. ìI couldnít run as far in track. It started affecting my life.î
Her life of addiction turned extremely dangerous the night of Dianaís junior prom. ìI tried meth for the first time. I liked it and I was addicted that first time.î
She said it was then that her fear of drugs went away because everyone around her was doing drugs too.
ìI surrounded myself with other people who were getting high all the time. The funny thing was the popular kids wanted nothing to with me when I started using powders,î she said.
Getting high on meth led to Diana adding cocaine to her drug repertoire. The pattern was very familiar for her ñ first she was just getting high on weekends, but soon it was every day.
ìI was high every hour of the day,î she said.
Diana was missing a lot of school and had to drop out of sports. Throughout it all, her relationship with her parents and siblings dwindled. ìThe meth and cocaine made me angry all the time,î she said. ìAll I did was come home and yell at my mom and dad.î
She said she was basically high for an entire year of her life, and she realized the drugs didnít make her happy.
ìI was emotionally dead. There was no life inside me,î Diana said.
Her long road to sobriety started when she came home drunk one day and finally confessed to her parents that she was an addict. ìI passed out after I told them and woke up in treatment,î she said.
The outpatient program helped her stay clean for only two weeks before she relapsed back into using meth.
At that point, her parents sent her to one of several ìsober schoolsî in the metro area, for teens wanting to continue in their recovery. She was sober for one month, but Diana said she was still hanging out with people who were doing drugs.
The pivotal moment in her struggle to overcome her addiction came after a weekend of getting high.
ìI did meth all weekend. I was high driving to school,î Diana said.
She began overdosing as she drove, suffering from seizures and coming close to dying. ìI donít remember how I got to school,î she said.
As people at the school worked to take care of her, an ambulance was called.
Her parents were notified as well. For as little as she was aware, Diana said she did hear the conversation school officials had with her mom.
ìThey asked if sheíd come and she said no,î Diana said.
When she awoke again, she was in the hospital and still no family members had come to see her. ìThatís when I really woke up. I almost died but I hurt them so bad they didnít come to see me.î
She said the friends she used with didnít care enough to come and see her either.
ìThe only ones who came were my sober school friends,î she said.
From there, Diana was put into an inpatient treatment facility that she described as intense. ìI learned a lot about my disease and how it affects people. I learned I had compromised every value and moral I had, and lost out on academic scholarships and athletics.î
She decided it was more important to stay clean. After treatment, her parents sent Diana to live with staff at the school.
Diana was committed then to staying away from drugs and alcohol and went on to graduate as the valedictorian of her class.
Today she is looking ahead to her 20th birthday as a college student with a good job, and her own apartment.
Diana has surrounded herself with friends who are drug-free, and she said who really care about her. ìMy friends have showed me that life is so much more fun without drugs. There are so many other things to do.î
Most importantly, she has repaired the relationship with her parents and siblings. ìIt took them about a year to trust me again,î she said.
She concluded by telling the students not to make the same mistakes she did. ìYou guys have the opportunity not do do that, donít miss out on so much of your life.î
The students then had the opportunity to ask her questions about her life, drug addiction and what drugs can do to the body.
Several were curious about how she could even get illegal drugs or alcohol when she was underage. They wanted to know about the treatment centers and whether she was scared when she was there.
They also asked if she had ever been in jail. Diana said no, but several of her old friends are in jail or worse ñ dead.
Ellen Hoiland, chemical health counselor for the North Branch School District, said she wanted Diana to come and speak with the classes because she had a good success story of someone who overcame drug addiction.

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