“I started using pills in middle school.  I grew up around alcoholics, so alcohol seemed dangerous – but not pills.  I went through a lot, including being assaulted.  That led me to use more.

 When I had the opportunity to try heroin, it didn’t seem scary.  I thought I’d be fine as long as I didn’t shoot up.  

For a while, I held it together.  I had a job, got my own place, and was going to school.  But after my father died, I started shooting up more.  I couldn’t imagine a way out, and I attempted suicide.  After that, I went to rehab.  I was tired of a drug controlling my life.  Addiction is like a prison – you don’t have control over anything.  

I always thought that because I was different, I’d never be okay.  But that’s not true.  Everyone deserves a second chance, and everyone deserves to be free.”