I was born in Texas, but I spent my childhood on Santa Catalina Island, where I was raised by my grandmother. She was like a second mother to me and loved me dearly. We spent so much time together: we’d go on picnics, make cookies, watch movies… It was the best!

But that didn’t last very long: By my teenage years, I was so filled with rage, anger, depression, and fear that I didn’t even want to be alive anymore.

Things started getting really bad for me when I started dating a boy who treated me terribly—he would push me around when he got angry at me or just for fun, too! When he broke up with me for another girl (who was prettier than me), it made me feel worthless and unlovable. That’s when everything went downhill: drinking heavily became an addiction for me; drugs became an escape from reality; suicide attempts became almost daily occurrences…

My life became so dark and painful that, at one point, I couldn’t see any way out of this mess except death itself!