Shanice: Standing before the world
“Sitting here at this desk in the Insight News office is a surreal experience for me because I’m reminiscing on where I was and how I moved to where I am now,” said Shanice Brown, reflecting on her first day of work as a reporter intern for Insight News.
Being a teenager can be a confusing and complicated part in one’s life. With hormones going wild and a young person trying to find herself, it’s hard to believe that things can get more challenging that than. That is far from the truth.
Since the age of 14 Brown has been battling multiple issues and is still battling some. “I’ve suffered from multiple sexual abuses and sexual assaults, starting at age 10. Those events warped my mind and I turned into a different person,” she said. As the years went by, her troubles piled on. “I became sexually active, I started smoking marijuana and drinking large amounts of alcohol.”
On July 14, Brown turned 17 years old. “It was my first teenage birthday sober and out of treatment,” she said. But for Brown the week continued to get better! “July 15 was a celebration for me. I have one year of sobriety. I never thought that I would see this day,” she said. “If I choose to use chemicals again, all of the privileges that I am experiencing in my life right now will instantly crash and burn and I am not willing to lose what I have gained.”
This fall, Brown will be a senior at Robbinsdale Cooper High School. “This is my first time in mainstream schooling. I have started the college application process and have taken the ACT. This is a big moment in my life because I’ll be the first in my family to graduate high school and the first to attend college,” she said. During my drug use, my education was no longer a priority in my life. I failed class after class, lost credits and got kicked out of schools. Now I only need three credits to graduate early of do Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) to earn college credits. Now I have a strong chance of getting into college and earning scholarships. My future is beyond bright.”
Brown says what she has experienced in her past has shaped her into the young woman that stands before the world today. “Those experiences gave me strength, hope and determination to fight for the things that matter. I once had a love of writing until I gave it all up to be drunk and high. But now, that love and skill are back in my hands and are being used in ways I only imagined as a child. I’m here to stay. I won’t allow myself to be drawn back into that dark era of my life. I have an internship as a writer, I have college and my senior year around the corner and have my strength and a year’s worth of health and sobriety. I’m too far to step back down,” she said.
The series of excerpts above are from an article which appeared in the August 9-15, 2010 issue of Insight News and have been reprinted with permission.
We are proud to note that Shanice Brown is a former participant of our Avanti Center program, which provides residential treatment services for females with emotional and behavior problems. The program helps young women gain the skills necessary to improve their quality of life, the lives of those around them, and to succeed as adults. Ms. Brown completed the program in 8.5 months. “I came to Avanti totally burnt out,” she reports. “I was supposed to be here for 10 months to a year. I was someone I can’t recognize now. I have self-esteem now. I love myself. But I also have confidence in myself. I accept that I am unique and I love it!” A shining example of an individual who has overcome difficult circumstances, Shanice is now destined for a bright future.