“All my life I was a hurt girl. I have blocked away all the pain of my past and did everything I could not to feel the pain of my childhood. I was the most negative person I knew. I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin, and I did everything I could to put a wall in front of me. Time and time again I was hurt, and my self-limiting beliefs rang true to me over and over again. I didn’t see any hope. I felt so alone and trapped. I didn’t even try to change or do something different in my life…. I came upon drugs and they filled the void. They were a constant in my life, and I liked them because they weren’t like people and they didn’t leave me. I played off this image of not caring what I did. The truth is I actually did care. My whole life was a spinning cycle. When I was given a second chance to change, I kept turning it down because I didn’t believe in myself. Sometimes I even lost track of how many programs I had gone to. I did everything in the book to try and hide, but at one point I got so tired of myself.

I finally decided to give it a chance just this one time. The door opened up for me and gave me so much hope. I have never been this happy before and true to myself. I have discovered things about me that I didn’t even know existed. The staff here has helped me so much through my endless struggles. The house moms dealt with all my crap for so long. They were there when I needed to talk. Angie and Toni were the most helpful to me because they gave me much hope. Mike gave me amazing therapy that helped me deal with things that hurt me the most. Luke was always honest with me and always there to help. Mickey was such a help through this whole process. She has stuck with me through so much. She is like a rock in my life that I will go to every time I am struggling… I am looking forward to showing the world what I have to offer. I will be a happy, sober, person. My family is so important to me, and they keep me going when all I want to do is give up. Before giving up, remember the reason you fought for so long. Thank you Elk Mountain for everything. Thanks for showing me that I am a free, brave, determined young woman of God.”