Preston L.

Growing up I had what most people would consider to be a decent childhood. I was very sheltered until the end of my high school years. Around the eleventh grade is when I started using nicotine and in the twelfth grade I began smoking marijuana. The next few years after that was when the hard drugs came in and at first it was merely just for the sake of trying something new, but I soon realized I was running away from depression and the mistakes I seemed to make of always letting down the people that I cared about. This spiraled into a never ending cycle of addiction, failure, and regrets and a couple years ago I found myself here at Teen Challenge. I was faced with an ultimatum my first try in the program, but this being my third attempt to finish, it’s solely for the purpose of getting closer with God and being the man I’ve been struggling to become over the last few years. I hope to become a Godly man, one who sticks to his word and can stay sober to be around for my family to lead them into the kingdom of God and to see what gifts I have to offer and bring others closer to God. I’ve realized that first starts with me.