A Life Shaped by Challenge, Purpose, and the Drive to Help Others

 

I was born in Victoria, Texas, though I grew up in the small town of Edna, a place so small it didn’t even have a hospital. Like many families in rural areas, we relied on the nearest city for things like that. Texas has always been home for me. Even though we moved around quite a bit when I was younger, it was always within the state.

I am one of five children, and growing up, we didn’t have much. Five kids can stretch a household thin, but despite that, I carry many great memories from my childhood. At the same time, there were also difficult experiences that I didn’t fully understand until later in life.

As an adult, I learned that my father had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. That explained a lot about the instability we experienced growing up. Our day-to-day life often depended on his mood, and there was a constant sense of unpredictability. My siblings and I endured different forms of abuse, never quite knowing what might trigger the next outburst. That uncertainty shaped much of our childhood.

Even so, I’ve always been someone who chooses to see the good. I’ve held tightly to the positive memories, refusing to let the difficult ones erase them. Being a “glass half full” person has helped me navigate life, and those good moments have often carried me through the harder times.

But positivity doesn’t erase pain. The truth is, those early experiences left scars. And like many people, I eventually turned to drugs as a way to cope. On the surface, I could still appear upbeat and put together, but internally, I was struggling. You can hide things from others, but you can’t hide from yourself. For me, drugs became a way to numb the pain and avoid facing what I had been through.

Looking back, both the hardships of my childhood and my struggles with substance abuse played a major role in shaping who I am today. They gave me firsthand experience with both the darker and brighter sides of life. Because of that, I firmly believe that no matter what we’ve been through or what we’ve done, we still have the power to choose the life we want to live. I’ve chosen to remain positive and to live without regret, using my experiences to help others. That’s who I am, and that’s who I choose to be, rough edges and all!

Helping people has always been at the center of my life. I’ve worked as a nanny for many years, which is a true passion of mine. In fact, I decided when I was just five years old that I never wanted any child to go through what I experienced growing up. That decision has stayed with me ever since. Being able to care for children and create safe, positive environments for them has been incredibly fulfilling.

I’m also a travel agent, which allows me to help people create meaningful experiences and lasting memories. I didn’t get to travel much as a child, so being able to explore the world through my work and help others do the same brings me a great deal of joy. It’s both challenging and rewarding in all the right ways.

In addition, I work in sales, which allows me to connect with new people every day. I genuinely enjoy meeting others, hearing their stories, and helping them create meaningful moments in their lives.

No matter what role I’m in, there’s one common thread: helping people. As long as I’m doing that, I feel fulfilled. And today, I can honestly say I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing.

Before I became involved with Narconon, my life was incredibly difficult. During the COVID pandemic, I began drinking heavily, so much so that I lost control. I was drinking day and night, trapped in what felt like a personal hell of my own making. I couldn’t find a way out.

“Narconon changed that. It saved my life, truly.”

Narconon changed that. It saved my life, truly. Before entering the program, I didn’t even recognize myself anymore. I desperately wanted my life back, but I didn’t know how to get there. That’s not living, it’s just existing. And that was my reality at the time.

My physical health had deteriorated to an alarming level. The scariest part was that I was fully aware of what I was doing to myself, yet I still felt powerless to stop. My family watched me decline, and they suffered alongside me, seeing me slowly fade. It’s something I now see happening in communities everywhere: families being torn apart by addiction.

That’s why I want to make a difference. That’s why I want to open a Narconon center here in Texas. I understand the pain, the hopelessness, and the toll addiction takes, not just on individuals, but on entire families. I want to be part of the solution.

What first opened my eyes to the scale of the drug problem was how easy it was to access substances. Despite what some people say, drugs are not hard to find. They are readily available almost anywhere, and that accessibility fuels the crisis we see today.

Although I had heard of Narconon before, I wasn’t truly motivated to take action until my own life spiraled out of control. Going through the program myself was life-changing—not just for me, but also because I got to witness so many others transform. One of the most powerful aspects of the program is that students support each other. There’s something incredibly meaningful about helping someone else overcome addiction while you’re doing the same. When you come from a place of hopelessness, that shared experience becomes a source of strength and inspiration.

“There’s something incredibly meaningful about helping someone else overcome addiction while you’re doing the same.”

How could I not want to give that same help and hope to others?

Interestingly, my first exposure to Narconon was at a grand opening in Florida. I remember being struck by how beautiful the facility was and learning about a rehabilitation approach that didn’t rely on substituting one drug for another. That concept made immediate sense to me. It felt logical—like the way recovery should be approached. Simple, but powerful.

Today, that belief has become part of my mission. Everything I’ve been through has led me here—to a place where I can help others find their way out of the darkness and back into a life worth living.

Christina W.B., Narconon Graduate & Field Representative