How has direct and/or indirect experience with drug and or/alcohol abuse affected your beliefs, relationships and career aspirations? That's quite an excellent choice of a question. You see I got sober on January 13th, 2020. I was 16 years old and a junior in high school. Three years later I continue to ask myself... How did I do it? Simple, I never fail to succeed. I have never gotten anything instantly, but in the end, I am always victorious. The journey of sobriety will always be a rocky process. To me, three years is only the beginning. My entire perspective on everything around me has changed. First of all, drugs destroyed me and everything around me. I was always a really good kid growing up. Becoming dependent on drugs at a young age was the last thing I had expected to happen in my life. One day I was a loyal, smart, driven girl, the next I had become unrecognizable. I had become manipulating, mean, backstabbing, lying, and most of all angry at myself and the world around me. I lost trust in everyone around me, and abusive friendships and relationships had become normal in my life because I didn't know any better. The only belief that I had was that the world would be a better place without me. As for a career I didn't plan to live past 18 so that wasn't a thought. My only ambitions were to do anything I could to get a fix, and no one was stopping me. That was where my determination went. My addiction caused me to throw out everything I had ever known and brought in a new life full of despair. I was disgusted with the person in the mirror more than ever. In Narcotics anonymous they say you will either end up in jail or dead. Once I started doing fentanyl I decided that wasn't the lifestyle I wanted, but I had no desire to be clean. Just to stay alive. I believe that having faith in a higher power greater than myself is how I made it so far, especially at the beginning. Next, it was the fellowship of recovery and its people that took me under their wing not caring about what I had done. Even if I wanted nothing to do with them. They taught me what real relationships were, and how I can give back everything I've learned through sponsorship. Now let's get into the career stuff. My entire life before I was using I wanted to be a marine biologist, and follow my passion for the ocean. When I had gotten clean that dream never disappeared. I finished high school with good grades while being on two swim teams and going to meetings. Now I am in college continuing to chase that dream because I decided life and sobriety are worth it. Instead of only thinking about myself I now give back to the newcomers of recovery and take on service commitments. My goal is to show people it is possible to recover, and that I have been in your shoes. I've made so many amazing friends along the way as well as getting to share my story with others just like me. I had become a leader. When I look in the mirror now I see a beautiful woman that takes her issue head-on instead of running from them. Addiction was the ultimate life-changing experience for the better.