9th Annual Teen Summit

My travels took me south to Los Alamitos where I was privileged to have a Luggage of Love table during the 9th Annual Teen Summit. Over 180 young men and women, ages 12 and over, attended the conference that focused on educating the attendees on violence prevention, teen dating violence, drugs & alcohol, provide alternatives and empower the youth to build safe and healthy relationships with others. Although Luggage of
Love was not the main topic of my discussions, it gave the attendees validation to the path I have chosen. My main focus was on letting them know that anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it. I talked to groups of teens throughout the day and shared with them my story of being born a drug baby, having been sexually and physically abused, homeless, in foster & shelter care, and having to struggle to fit in. More importantly I talked with them about making a choice to be something rather than a statistic. I look forward to attending next year and being one of their speakers. Thank you Maribel Contreras for inviting me and putting on such a valuable informative conference for the youth in your area.