During high school I was a good student, ended up winning regionals and state for an engineering competition. I had a really big group of friends and life was going in a great direction. Come senior year a guy that was on the outskirts of my circle of friends started rumors that I was a cocaine addict/drug addict. The rumors got traction and as the school year went by more and more of my "friends" no longer wanted to be associated with me (all of us were part of a pretty strict community where drugs/alcohol/fornication is extremely looked down upon to the point of alienation) This led to me no longer having any friends very shortly after. Then my older brother (who was smoking weed, popping pills and drinking/partying) offered to let me tag along with his friends. This was the worst decisions of my life. Ended up becoming a self fullfilling prophecy and got involved with the wrong people, flunked out of community college and became a screw up that would use my parents. This lasted from the age of 17 to 21 when I was at a house party and really thought how I dont want to be like that for the rest of my life. I got my act together, quit all those bad habits, worked multiple jobs (from being a receptionist to hard labor construction) to help my parents and pay for a community college education. Ended up helping troubled youth in the strict community I used to be a part of to cope with the pressures of high school and drugs. Found a beautiful girl that was doing the same. Married that amazing woman and now i am going back to finish my bachelors in engineering at the age of 28. (That kid that started rumors about me when we were kids is now my Brother in law and still is causing problems to this day)