Teens 101

You can become addicted to just about anything. It becomes a serious problem when it takes you away from the things you normally do. Some people have a predisposition to addiction and Will story shows that anyone can fall dangerously into addiction. He could never imagine that at the age of 17 he would be living on the streets addicted to Crack Cocaine and near death.

As a child and teenager, Michelle endured a series of events that was nothing short of soul crushing. She faced sexual abuse as a child and kept it a secret over the years. At the age of sixteen she acquired a brain disease that rendered her blind. She fell into a deep depression and turned to drugs, alcohol and self-harm to numb her pain but thankfully a miraculous turn of events saved her life.

"Billionaire PA" became a great salesman. The only problem is he sold drugs on the street landing him in and out of jail. He learned the channel his efforts into something good and now he is a true inspiration to so many and his goal is to reach a Billion people.

Lydia's life as a child was filled with family dysfunction, drugs, abuse and the death of her mother. She ended up in the foster care system before the age of 10 and would endure moving between 36 different foster homes. Lydia was left with a lack of identity, belonging, and self-worth. Living out of a car, she put herself through school and is determined to provide a loving home for her family.

At the age of 12, Joey was coming to the realization that that he was gay. He confided in a "friend" who soon spread the word around school. Joey became the target of bullying and ridicule. His own mother and father could not accept that their son was gay and abandoned him. He was left with his unaccepting grandparents. The only way out, so he thought, was to take his own life.

Eileen's family emigrated from China to North America to create a new life for their children. The Chinese family culture and dynamics were important in the household. Eileen found it difficult to fit in with her peers with the high expectations placed on her. Upon going to University, she decided that she'd transform her life with an ultimate spiritual and physical makeover.

Eleanor had a hard time fitting in. She was severely bullied through elementary school. In high school, she developed paralyzing anxiety to the point where she couldn't breathe or enter a room full of people nor could she be touched. It took a lot but Eleanor blossomed into a happy young woman that now study's psychology in University and works in an institution assisting troubled youth.

Lindsay (Eekwol) grew up in the First Nations community. She experienced an unforgiving world of drugs, alcohol, and violence within her family. As she grew up in this environment, she soon developed into an abuser of drugs and alcohol herself. With the help of her sister, the path of being clean and sober led to becoming a successful solo female aboriginal hip hop artist.

At the age of 13, Lindsay was a cheerleader and cross country runner. But she became obsessed about her weight. She stopped eating and when she did, purging was the option. She was losing weight beyond what was normal while still competing and running until the point where she mutilated herself and ended up in an institution. Her miraculous recovery is truly an inspiring story to all youth.

At the age 14, Brittany began to internalize her feelings. Her insecurities grew and she turned to drugs and alcohol. At a party with friends from school, her excessive drinking led to sexual abuse. This made things worse and she began to engage in self-harm practice, cutting her arms regularly. The more depressed she got, the worse the self-inflicted harm became until she was hospitalized.

As far back as David could remember, he did not identify with being a little girl. He wished he were a boy and when puberty hit he could no longer deal with it. He told his parents that he identifies with being a boy and the moment he changed his name to David and decided that he is male, life started making sense. He felt a happiness he had never experienced before.

At the age of 13, a boy approached Cristina asking her to be his girlfriend. She declined the boy's offer and he became angry, threatening that she would regret it. He had circulated a nude photo online saying that it was Cristina although the person's face was not seen. She was mortified. No one could put a stop to it and she couldn't escape the rumours for 7 years.

From as early as he can remember, Sean had lived with extreme anxiety. As the years went by, he couldn't connect with other students. He was bullied and could never understand why. After years of searching, finally a doctor recognized that Sean had Asperger's. He found his way back in the world and learned how to control his disorder and now helps younger kids like him.