Here is my story:

I haven’t always been a crystal clear young man. In fact, I was the hellion you wish you didn’t know.

As a young teen who grew up in a Christian home and went to six years of Catholic school in Bismarck, ND, I began developing my previous rebellion into full blown chaos. In my first year of junior high school, I felt very alone as I had just transferred to the public school with no friends coming with me. I found friendship with a group of “punks” and within months I began drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.

The following year in the eighth grade, I experimented with Marijuana and drank every weekend. I also picked up a solid sheet of citations.

By the time I was ready to move up to high school, I had been drinking every weekend, sometimes during the week and I also was getting high whenever I could.

High school was a breath of freedom and I took complete advantage of it getting high up to five times a day and skipping class with an attitude of complete apathy. During this year I also experimented with mushrooms and acid.

One night my luck of breaking the rules ran out and I was arrested for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The sentence was six months of probation, drug tests and a drug evaluation. With a pile of lies, I avoided drug treatment. Two months later, another bit of luck turned, and was caught cheating on my drug tests.

I decided to fess up and tell the truth. I started taking my situation seriously and told the truth, but I didn’t learn my less quite yet. After another two months of drinking and using acid, I hit another turning point when in a drunken stupor, I attacked my brother. I forcefully tried to beat up my brother, five years to senior.

I ran to my room and cried. As I laid face sunk in my bed with tears filling my pillow, I heard my mom enter the room and say “Just pray to God Ty, he will help you.”

I was hopelessly lost and with all hope and energy drained from my being, I prayed.

The words I uttered from my mouth were, “God I can’t take this life anymore, I need your help.”

The next day, I awoke and skipped school to go to the treatment center and tell the truth. I freed myself from the lies and began walking towards Freedom.

A few months later, I went to Young Life, a non-denominational youth group, and caught a glimpse of the person whom I asked for forgiveness from.

I began reading the Bible everyday and became very active in the group to the point of working for the organization my sophomore year of college.

The deeds I have done can fill much more space, but what I have found is that I cannot live, live the life I was meant to, without the power of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

I lived a flawless few years, reading many books of the Bible and serving at many camps. People look at me in amazement with the wisdom I have, they say, but I have learned through many mistakes that those things do not make me a better person; they do not make me better than anyone; they do not give me freedom sin. All these things are merely rewards for serving the one who gives us the strength to do good works.

He is the reason for my life, this site and the world we live in.

~Ty Hagerott

Each of us has a story and whether we believe our story to be good or bad does not matter for we can all help one another by sharing our life experiences. Please share your story with us.
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