I was born into a trap. Born into what others may call a “full house” but what I call a hell house. The world I knew was illegal, it was chaos, it was a living nightmare. Growing up children learn what that live and for me, well I learned that drugs could take over your life, I learned that family isn’t always someone you are related to, but the most important thing my life has taught me was that I can not fix my family's bad habits but what I can do is prevent and break a cycle of bad habits by taking a different road in life.

When I began participating in such bad habits as drug use,drinking and violent reactions I had no intention in living any differently. Why?,Well all I knew in life was exactly that. My addiction was formed when I noticed that being under the influence numbed my broken felt heart, it made the house I call hell a little colder and the reality of my world a little better. At this time I denied being addicted and I denied that my family's abuse was contagious like the annual flu, but what was I thinking? I was masked by the smell,by the look,by the laughs it gave me, by the tingling in my hands,by the way it made me feel wanted, by the high that allowed me to make a complete stop and breath.

The type of life I was born into was soon interrupted by authorities. I remember sitting down trying to understand how I, at 16 was being investigated. Everything happened so fast. I had been taken from my home and been placed in another. This home was different. It was clean,it was beautiful, it was warm. It was my new home. I was scared to face my own problems. For the first time in my life, I knew where I belonged. I knew what was right. I had the choice to remain on the road that my family did or to be the first in my family to create a new road with a new destination.

The life ahead is scary and is a new way of life for me. I refused to give up because after being sober, my eyes opened up and my heart was ready to beat for me. I was tired of living life under the pressure of my bloodline. I was ready to live for myself and live for the chance to become and discover more than my family ever has. The road that my family navigated me on was a small trip that made me strong enough to turn around and follow a new road to the amazing world and future for myself. Taking the wrong road in life may seem like the way to hell, but when that road brings you to unexpected stops, that is when it makes all the difference. My future now is bright and I look forward to the road that is now ahead of me.