When I first started high school I found myself starting to experiment with drugs. It wasn't too long before I was doing all different types all the time. I started skipping school a lot and just showing up in the morning and leaving whenever I got sick of sitting around. Usually I would just go to meet up with a few friends. I managed to get through freshman year, but once I entered the tenth grade the pattern had already begun. I was failing all my classed due to absences and at the time I didn't think it was a big deal. School wasn't the only negative aspect that resulted from my behavior. Things at home weren't going well either. I found myself arguing with my mom all the time and grew distant from the rest of my family as well.
In the tenth grade I got kicked out of Everett High for selling some pills to some of my friends. While the court cases were more than I wanted to deal with, I didn't think getting kicked out of school was a big deal. What did surprise me was how supportive my family was after the fact, even though I had put them through many hard times previous to that point. My family encouraged me to get back into school, but it didn't seem like an option I had at the time. I started working and was making pretty good money. My drug use had slowed down dramatically but I was still smoking a lot of marijuana. I eventually lost my job and was left wondering what options I had left, though it seemed like finding another job was the only one.
I decided to ask my probation officer if he could help me find a job when I went to see him for a one of my bi-monthly visits. He handed me a card from Youthbuild Just-A-Start in Cambridge. He told me I could graduate with a diploma and earn money while I attend school. Going to school wasn't really what I wanted to do, but I figured as long as I can make money, I would give it a shot. Not long after I got accepted into the program. The program made it very easy to get to know people and the staff were very friendly. It wasn't long before I started to excel in the program. I had nearly perfect attendance and did very well academically. I enjoyed working on the construction sites as well as it gave me time to talk to the people I had become friends with and learn some extra skills that could prove to be valuable in the future.
During the second year of the program, the teachers at Youthbuild put a lot of effort in convincing me to go beyond high school and attend college. It wasn't too long before I changed my mind and decided that college is definitely where I wanted to go after high school. The teachers started working with me to achieve my goal. I accomplished to semesters at once, working as an intern for Thermo Electron and also completing a college course in Economics. Accomplishing these as once allowed me to graduate in time to attend the Fall semester at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
I am currently still attending at Umass, Amherst. I owe a lot of my success to the Youthbuild program and staff, as they encouraged me to do things I didn't think were possible. I hold the program very close to my heart and it makes me happy to think that they are doing the same for many as they did for me. I am still close with many of the staff members and try to go in to visit the program when I have the opportunity. Youthbuild helped me get to where I am today and the further I go in life, I will always think of Youthbuild as the foundation of my success.
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