When walking into the auditorium and seeing his face, looking at all the students I would have never considered his personal experiences to be so similar to those he looked back at.

Not only did Hill’s story share similarities with so many in that room, or at least the start of his downward spiraling path, but his presence illustrated how well his story ended. Hill’s speech and his personal experience was monumental, but for me I had a couple major takeaways.

Hill’s story humanized him. It was something he wasn’t ashamed of, he wasn’t emotional, he wasn’t shy, he told the truth and only that. Guilt free, free of prejudice and of all those mixed emotions the students in his shoes often feel. Hill’s story was something he told with pride, because without his experience and recovery, he wouldn’t be able to impact thousands and visit hundreds of schools like he does. Hill endured that pain, and had that experience so that kids like him don’t have to, but also he shared the message to not feel alone and ashamed. His pride in his story gives hope and strength to kids. It gives kids that wishful feeling of pride in their own story, which they can only get from becoming better and re-writing it just like Hill did. Digging themselves out of the hole Stephen Hill dug himself out of. Hill’s speech not only told us what tools he used, and how long it took him to get out of that hole, but how he felt digging himself out, the good, the scared, the guilty, and the bad. But most importantly the courage and bravery it took for him to get where he is now: the healthy, and the happy. 

Hill’s story, and experiences also gave me a moral lesson because I walked into there thinking “I bet he got his degree in this field, experienced none of this first hand, and is going to tell us how bad drugs and alcohol are for our brain.” This couldn’t have been any less true, and gave me a little lesson that you can’t always assume the “druggie” vs. the “jock.” It demonstrated to me, and hopefully others that you not only have no idea what someone’s been through to get where they are, but also the fact that you have no right in guessing the end of their story, because ultimately the only one in charge of writing their story is them, which Hill certainly did.