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 for years. At the age of sixteen she acquired a brain disease that rendered her blind. Her so-called friends bullied her at school. She fell into a deep depression and turned to drugs, alcohol, and self-harm to numb her pain, but nothing seemed to help. She felt her only option was suicide. Thankfully, a miraculous turn of events saved her life and now this remarkable young woman faces all her adversity with such positive energy that it has become infectious and humbling to all that know and love her.
Producers: Teens 101 Inc.
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Breaking Poverty: Billionaire PA’s Story
Poverty, drugs, violence, abuse, family deaths… Demitrius experienced all of it as a child and young teenager. He became a great salesman. The only problem is he sold drugs on the street, landing him in jail. What else you can you do when you live in such poverty? His grandmother planted a thought in his head, “If you could use the focused energy you have in selling drugs and channel it into something good, you will be unstoppable.” Taking her advice, he not only turned his life around but is now saving so many others from the hardships that he endured as a teenager. He is a true inspiration to so many and his goal is to reach a billion people.
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Broken Families: Lydia’s Story
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. The longing for her family and her loneliness created a cycle of destruction or “acting out.” Nothing or no one could fill the void she felt. Somehow, she found an incredible strength to turn her life around. Living out of a car, she put herself through school and became determined to have her own family, providing a loving home for her two children; something she never had.