Teen Trouble (2012) s01e04 Episode Script
Asmara
Tonight I'm gonna shove the truth in your face.
Do it.
I'm Josh Shipp.
When a teen is out of control And the parents are out of options This has been going on I get the call.
Tonight on "Teen Trouble" Where the party at? I've got one shot to save 16-year-old Asmara.
I'm (bleep) up.
- You are an alcoholic - All right.
You know, it gets really rough at night.
I don't think you're getting it.
I'm not gonna sit here and be like, "I'm gonna be sober for the rest of my life.
" I want you to look them in the eyes and ask for forgiveness.
Do you not remember kicking me? Listen.
You have to shut your mouth.
I know what it means to be a teen in trouble.
I was one Abandoned, abused, addicted but I beat the odds.
I'm a teen behavior specialist.
My approach is gritty, gutsy You can lie to everyone else.
You will not lie to me.
And in your face.
You're acting like a spoiled brat.
It's ridiculous.
My mission is to wake these teens and their parents up Here is a condom.
Here we have a beer can.
Before it's too late.
I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you throw away your life.
This week, I'm in Eugene, Oregon, where 16-year-old Asmara is slamming drugs and drinking herself to death.
I'm (bleep) up.
Aah! Her parents have completely lost control and have no idea how to save her.
Well, I'm just gonna say a few things.
Let's get (bleep) up.
When I was 13, that was the first time I really got trashed Completely wasted.
I completely blacked out.
I drink hard liquor, like, every weekend.
I'm about to take a shot, 'kay? I smoke weed every day.
I started doing ecstasy, like, once a week.
I'm (bleep) up.
Partying is my only way of kind of, like, making me not think about things.
I kind of do it for fun, but at the same time, I do it because when I'm (bleep) up, I feel ten times better than I do when I'm sober.
Really sad.
One night, I got belligerently drunk Like, to the point where I was, like, completely blacked out.
But I wake up, and I have this huge gash on my leg, and my belt's gone, and I'm like, "what happened last night? What the hell?" And my friend she's like, "you had sex with somebody.
" "What?!" Like, I was like, "what the (bleep)?" Like, "what are you talking about?" I didn't remember who it was, or anything.
I would never, ever, ever tell my parents that.
Party at your house? My daughter's out of control.
We have tried everything with this girl.
She's been in counseling since she was 13, pretty much every week, sometimes twice a week, and she's worse.
Did I tell you what happened Friday night? I, like, almost died.
I don't like her choices in life.
She's sneaking through the windows, not following the rules, smoking pot.
Her behavior has escalated and become so dangerous, I mean, she could die.
I run away for weeks, just weeks Just stay at friends' houses, kick it, like, not go to school, just, like, do whatever.
I haven't seen her since Thursday night.
Overall She doesn't know how to raise a kid.
Asmara, you are a gorgeous girl.
Shut the (bleep) up.
You're kind of, like, irritating me.
Some people are just prepared for teenagers.
I wasn't.
I had had this dream that I was gonna have this hippie kid, and I just thought we were gonna be meditating and burning candles together.
I didn't think we were gonna be oppositional with each other.
It wasn't always like this.
Go ahead.
Blow 'em out.
There you go.
I was 35 when I had Asmara.
First and only child.
She was a miracle.
I cannot believe that I had a child.
It was really amazing.
Me and my dad's relationship started off really, really good.
Really g it makes my tummy twirl talking about it.
Asmara was his whole life.
When Asmara was 5 or 6, we started to have more problems.
She was really hyper.
If anyone messed with her, she'd bite or She was just kind of fiery.
Asmara has always been very stubborn child.
My dad is from a different country.
His culture smoking weed like, that's just Like, that's horrible.
That's, like, a sin.
Like, he wants me to have a shawl over my face and you can only see my eyes, and he needs to understand that when you have a kid that's American, you cannot push me to follow your rules.
When Asmara was about 13, she started hanging out with the wrong crowd.
And I was like, "no way did you not just (bleep) do that.
" He lost his temper.
He he blew a fuse, basically.
He ended up, like, hitting me, definitely.
I definitely got the (bleep) beat out of me.
I'm sure he probably kicked her and I remember not being able to walk.
To, like, literally have a black eye, and have, like, (bleep) scratches on your face, and go to school the next day A frickin' 13-year-old girl should not be having to deal with that.
Yeah, that changed everything.
Because I was so hurt emotionally and physically, and broken, if I wasn't (bleep) up, and I was sober, like, I would just think about it all the time.
That's when I started (bleep) up.
That's when I started smoking weed.
That's when I started drinking, doing ecstasy.
I was bad.
Like, I just always needed to be (bleep) up constantly.
I cannot control this child.
Where the party at? I'm absolutely terrified that Asmara will get raped, go to prison, maybe she could die.
Her behavior has got me in panic mode that the worst thing's gonna happen.
I want something different in my life.
I want to be happy.
We can't find our way alone right now.
We need an angel.
I'm on my way to meet up with Asmara and her parents for the first time.
I've been studying the details of this family, and there is truly a lot at stake with Asmara.
She drinks to the point of blacking out, and this is a frequent thing that she does.
Dad gets uncomfortable with the whole dynamic, mom's an emotional basket case, and Asmara's in control.
I don't think she realizes how dangerous what she's doing is.
Asmara, at any moment, could make a decision that would end her life.
Thank you so much for having me into your home.
It's wonderful to meet you, and I'm looking forward to this week.
Why am I here? What's the point of this? What is your hope for this? I can't really reach Asmara right now.
It's just a battle of wills.
You know, anything that would help my daughter I think that you're here to help me.
Everybody goes through a rough time, and I'm going through that.
It's interesting.
You're certainly able to talk about the issues, but things still haven't changed.
I'm here for Asmara, and I'm committed to working with you guys because ultimately, I want Asmara to succeed, and and I believe she has the potential to do such.
That's why I chose her.
Right now Asmara and I are gonna spend some time together.
I want to get to know her, and then I'll be back later, and, uh, the three of us can sit down and spend some time together.
- Okay.
- All right? - Great.
- Let's go.
Part of my process is to spend a little one-on-one time with the teen I'm working with, in hopes that they'll open up to me.
You know, I don't know this guy at all.
I'm just meeting him for the first time, and I have to completely give him all my trust.
I mean, that's a lot for me.
That's a big deal.
All right, so this week, I'm gonna make you face things you'd rather not face, but it's all to get you Is it gonna be horrible? - Maybe.
- Uh-oh.
I'm here to help you change your life.
I mean, on a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you? Like 1.
- Mm-hmm.
- Really? Yeah.
I-I went through this period in my life where I lived in foster homes.
When I was 8, I was raped by a 21-year-old man who lived in one of these foster homes.
That was the beginning of the downward spiral for me.
It's like I was drinking to try to forget about that.
It's like you don't want to talk about it, but I guess I learned through that that if you don't deal with it, it'll deal with you.
I talk, though.
I feel like I'm stuck.
So it seems like you have this situation at home you don't like.
And so you do whatever you can to escape it.
- I can't feel comfortable in my own home.
- Yeah.
Like, I can't I can't get along with my mom.
I argue with my mom.
It's it's awkward around my dad.
- The - I don't want to rehash it, But you know that violent episode with your dad? Do you feel like that was kind of the beginning - Yeah.
- Of things shifting? Definitely.
It was completely (bleep) up after that.
When I go home, I like, go through the back.
- Like, I avoid seeing him.
- Mm-hmm.
There's an incident that happened like, a couple weeks ago, where he got he didn't touch me.
- Yeah.
- He has not touched me since then.
Yeah.
But he got, like, this close to my face, and, like, spit on me, and like, "get the (bleep)" yeah.
He spit on you? So yeah, he did.
It's just awkward.
- It's just weird, and you - It's just weird.
You know, like, I turn off my phone.
Like, I just want to be drunk with my friends and have a good time.
- Like that's a whole nother world and and - Exactly.
It's running away from my problems.
- And you wake up, and it's all there again.
- Exactly.
I'm, like, my main thing is, I want to be happy.
I do.
Everyone says, like, "yes, I want to change, yes, I want my life to be better.
" It's like, okay, what are you prepared to do differently in order to change? Honestly, I-I really don't know.
Are you willing to stop smoking pot? Yeah.
Are you willing to stop drinking? No.
No.
Are you willing to be honest with your parents? I mean your drinking, I mean your date rape I mean everything.
Nope.
Just gonna be honest.
Look, my goal this week is that both you and your parents own up, come clean, face the facts.
I just that's I can't.
I can't.
You say you want to change.
Prove it.
That's a lot to give up.
Are you kidding me? I can't even imagine how these next four days are gonna go.
I don't think you're getting it.
I'm not trying to be a jerk.
You have to shut your mouth.
One of the first things I do when I'm working with parents is to excavate their teen's room.
You have the right as a parent to know what your kid's up to.
All right, so, yeah.
You guys can hang out.
I'll look around.
I'm just looking for any sort of irregularities, anything that seems out of place.
Always want to be thorough.
You never know.
- Wow.
- Mm.
There is definitely some weed in there.
Yeah, that's really oh, my goodness.
That's horrible.
Here we have a drawerful of condoms.
What this means is that the stakes are even higher of how important it is that both, she has a good relationship with you as a father and and also that you as a mother, you have that influence about a topic - that could be so important.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
All right.
So - What is a pacifier? - Pacifier.
Pacifier is typically common in the culture of kids doing ecstasy, raving, these sorts of things.
Look, these are the facts.
Don't get depressed about it.
This is what we're dealing with.
These sorts of things are going on.
You know, this is helpful to do every couple of weeks.
And and it's helpful to to let your daughter know that you will be doing it.
An at-risk teen, they need an environment that is emotionally stable.
Do you feel like you Model what being emotionally healthy means? Not all the time.
Okay.
Okay.
Yourself? Very much.
About 90%, yes.
I control myself.
As you know, what happened to me before, I get in trouble.
- You know, I - Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
You know, I've learned a lot and and then I change.
She mentioned to me, you You spit in her face at some point.
- Was that during then? - No, no, I don't I don't think so, spit.
I I think you spit on the ground.
- But I don't remember - Spitting, yeah.
I because I'm not really good in those crisis situations Mm-hmm.
I'm usually running around trying to fix everything.
- Right.
Like you're trying to do right now.
- Uh - I'm I'm talking to him.
- Uh-huh.
I don't think I spit in her face, but I was very close.
- I remember, I was taking away the phone from her.
- He spits a lot when he talks.
He didn't hit her.
I need you not to jump in here.
Okay.
I'm I'm just trying to get the facts.
- That's what she told me.
- Yeah.
- I just want to understand the facts.
- Yeah.
- And - It it seems like when things For Asmara get challenging, she sort of cuts and runs.
Where do you think she learned that? It's hard to know where she get it.
I think she just get it from herself.
I wonder if she learned to run away from you.
- Well - Don't fight this.
Think about when she was born, Michael.
We broke up six months later.
I mean You you left, always.
When things get hard, Michael goes in and I do it, too, where he doesn't Sure, all right, no rescue.
Let's just pause right here.
- Yeah, thanks.
- I gotta ask you the hard stuff.
That's why I'm here.
Sure, sure.
Is it is it at least a possibility? It could be.
All right.
Here's what I know.
It could be.
Mm-hmm.
What she has seen a handful of times in her life is that when something gets hard Split.
Uh-huh.
Even if it's for a good reason, even if it's to something else Here's the let me interrupt you.
- But still - Here's the fact of the matter.
In your parenting, you have trained Asmara to tune you out.
Right? I'm I'm not trying to be a jerk.
You have to shut your mouth.
Open the ears, listen.
I would love her to just sit down and have a conversa I would love to listen to her.
You're challenging to have a conversation with.
When you are constantly filling the The empty space.
As you just did There's no room for her.
You gotta give her that space.
Can you do that? I mean, I'll do anything for Asmara.
This is your future if you do not change.
You know, it gets really rough at night.
You are the one that is doing this to yourself.
You're not gonna emotionally play me That's not what I'm (bleep) All right, so I promised you guys an intense week.
And tonight, that starts.
Do me a favor, get dressed, and make sure that you wear some very warm clothing.
Okay.
All right? Mm-hmm.
Good.
So part of my process is to fast-forward for a teenager where their choices are taking them.
The number one reason teens become homeless is because they come from emotionally unstable homes.
Combine that with her drinking, your daughter is a prime candidate for becoming homeless.
So tonight she's going to spend the night on the streets, homeless.
I want to scare the crap out of her But I don't want her to get hurt.
This is the future she is facing if she does not change.
It's gonna be probably as hard for me Tonight as her mother as it is for her.
I have no idea what's gonna happen.
I'm expecting the worst, 'cause he said it was gonna be hard.
I just don't think it's Worth my time, so I don't know.
Yesterday Asmara seemed open and optimistic.
But today I feel like she's putting up a wall.
Here's what's going on.
This is a youth homeless shelter.
This is your future if you do not change.
Oh.
That's kinda (bleep).
But I just don't This is where homeless teens come because they have no one else to help them.
All right.
You are, whether or not you want to admit it, an alcoholic.
No.
And when people are addicts, they eventually cut off all relationships that are important to them.
They burn those bridges.
This is where you're going to end up.
I know you're smiling and you think it's cute.
And I know you don't like facing the truth, but tonight I'm gonna shove the truth in your face.
This is it.
Do it.
All right.
Let's go.
Checking her in.
I don't think I would ever be homeless.
My parents would never let me be in that position.
I think that he made a wrong decision by doing this.
I'll go with it, but I don't think that it's showing me anything.
Asmara's naive.
She thinks her parents are never gonna kick her out, but eventually, everyone, and I mean everyone, is gonna get tired of this, and then she's gonna be on her own.
Hey, what's up? How you doin'? Hey.
This is Asia.
Hi, how you doin'? Hi.
It's nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, too.
- This is Asmara - Hi.
- Who I was telling you about.
Okay, cool.
She has a very similar story to yours.
I wanted the two of you to spend some time together.
It's gonna be a long night.
You know, it gets really rough at night.
I'm not gonna lie.
You gotta be really careful because if you get too hidden, that's not good.
But if you're too out in the open, that's really not good.
Watch out for the piss right there.
Okay.
I left home when I was 15.
I got tired of my mom crying, my dad mad at me all the time.
I knew that my parents would never kick me out, but I kinda kicked myself out.
I thought I had my life under control, but apparently, I didn't, you know? It's (bleep) cold.
I know.
Yeah.
Yeah, I don't blame you.
You do gotta move around a little bit so that you're not too easy of a target.
I can't feel my feet.
I don't know how you do this every day.
I'm already tired of it.
Oh (bleep).
All right.
Girl, we gotta get outta here.
The hard part is sleeping.
I can't sleep outside.
I can't.
I never have been able to.
I can't even camp.
- What's up? - What up? How you feelin'? I miss my bed.
Do you? I've been listening.
I'm sure.
I don't think you're getting it.
You don't think so? No.
So here's what's gonna happen tonight you're sleeping here.
You don't have a choice.
Look, you're not gonna emotionally play me.
You're not gonna manipulate me That's not what I'm (bleep) Trying to do.
You are the one that is doing this to yourself.
You're the one that runs away.
You're the one that does the drugs.
You're the one that drinks.
All right.
So, Asia, thank you.
If you could go over there.
Guys, I'm let's go.
Let's go.
I'm kind of overwhelmed right now.
Usually I'm home and I'm pissed and, like, I'm thinking about getting out of there fast as I can.
But right now I'm thinking about getting back home as fast as I can.
I miss my mom.
I'm gonna give my mom a big hug, definitely.
I'm ready to go home.
Morning.
I think Asia's really, really cool, and I get it.
I think that that's horrible that this is her life.
All right.
Well, give me a hug.
Take care of yourself.
Yeah, you, too.
It's just really sad that it got to that point that I'd never want to take my life.
Yeah, I'm ready to go home.
Can I give you a hug? Yeah.
Got a hug.
Wow.
I'm not gonna sit here and be like, "I'm gonna be sober for the rest of my life.
" Are you kidding me? Binge drinking and blacking out can do a lot more than just put you on the streets.
It can put you in the grave.
I've flown Debbie in from California because I'm hoping that hearing her story will be the wake-up call that Asmara and her parents desperately need.
This is Debbie.
She has an incredible story that I want you to hear.
Debbie, take it away.
On December 20, 2008, my beautiful 17-year-old daughter shelby arrived at a home of another friend where there was a set of parents and three or four of their college-age friends.
The girls started drinking.
And within one hour Shelby became violently ill.
She vomited so strongly that her head hit the toilet bowl, and not one person called for help.
I got the call when the coroner's van was there.
Shelby died of acute alcohol poisoning.
Drinking to the point of blacking out cost Debbie's daughter her life.
And I don't want that to happen to you, too.
Did you know that every time you black out, the next shelf down is the death zone? If you wake up, you're lucky.
If you don't, you've slipped into the death zone.
I just felt so overwhelmed at that point.
I wanted to get out of there.
Everybody was just giving me a weird vibe.
So I just kinda just shut everybody out.
You do not want this.
You do not.
You are her mother.
No one else.
You are her father.
No one else.
And you guys need to love her enough to say, "we will express our love through laying down the boundaries.
" Asmara, are you willing to give your parents permission to have boundaries around drinking? I'm not gonna make a promise.
I'm not coming here expecting you to all of a sudden Change completely this week.
It's not realistic for - in that instant, you to go, "all right" - Yeah.
- "I'm done drinking.
" - Exactly.
But here's what is realistic maybe I should consider what it would take to stop drinking and for me to not lie to myself about what the risks are.
That's a lot to give up, and I don't think I'm ready to do that.
Alcohol is a lot to give up? - No.
Just everything.
- Drinking is a lot to give up? Vomiting is a lot to give up? Are you kidding me? I'm not gonna sit here and be, like, "I'm gonna be sober for the rest of my life "and I'm not gonna drink "and I'm not gonna do any drugs, and I'm not gonna do anything.
" I'm gonna sit here and I'm gonna be straight the up with you.
I flew her here for you.
She poured her heart out about her how daughter died, and I feel like you don't care.
This morning, I had a lot of hope and I was feeling pretty good about Asmara.
And right now I feel like complete and total crap.
But I'm not through.
I've got one other thing I want to put her through.
I want to see how she responds to that.
But if she's not showing me she's still serious, I feel like this is This is gonna be the one that doesn't work.
I want to introduce you to shelby.
She has an incredible story that I hope you'll get a lot out of.
When I was at the beginning of high school, I went to parties all the time, doing drugs and drinking.
Thought nothing of it.
My life was just, you know, having fun.
Things didn't really happen that were, like, super bad, so I never knew the repercussions that could come from it until I turned 17.
I met a guy.
We started to date, and things were pretty normal, you know? One night, I went to his house.
And when I decided that I wanted to leave, he took my keys, took my phone, took my computer, and told me that I was staying there and that I wasn't gonna leave.
For the next six months, I was forced to do tons of drugs and sleep with tons of men that I didn't know.
Later down the road, I found out that he had, uh Taken photos and videos with hidden cameras and sold it on the Internet.
To not remember those things that are happening to you And then I see a video of somebody, like, peeing on me or spitting on me I thought I was in control.
Never did I think, you know, when I was at parties and stuff, doing drugs and drinking, that I would become a sex slave or somebody's property.
Mm.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
One night, he shot me up with meth, and I overdosed, and They threw me in a bathtub for three days.
And they were just gonna let me die there if I hadn't woken up, because they didn't care about me.
Making those small, bad decisions can lead you into situations that you just can't get out of.
I am three years clean and sober.
And I'm just now, like, it's awful what shelby back on trahas gone through.
But the good news for you is that you can set yourself free.
I see what you mean.
You could sleep on the streets, you could have somebody tell you that their daughter died from alcohol poisoning, but it didn't make me feel like I did when I sat in this room.
If she can go through all of that and still have a good attitude, then I think anybody can do anything.
I understand it's sensitive.
I understand it's scary.
That's gonna make 'em pull me in more.
Either you tell them or I will.
All right, so coming up is a family summit, and the point of all this is for, once and for all, this family to lay all the cards on the table, for them to do what they do not like to do, which is face the truth and deal with it.
All right, so, this is a very important time where I'm gonna ask each of you to confess things that you need to confess, apologize to those you need to apologize to, and ask for forgiveness so you guys, as a family, can move on.
So, Asmara, for you, I think it's important that you confess to your parents how much alcohol you drink and how often.
I think it's important.
Do I have to do that? Your parents should know.
I don't think that they should.
Look, this is getting the facts out and moving on.
I want you to look them in the eyes, tell them the details how much alcohol and how often.
Pretty often.
What does "pretty often" mean? Like, every weekend.
It's usually It's usually hard liquor, yeah.
All right.
I also think it would be important for you to share with your parents what happened to you that instance in which you blacked out.
I don't think that they should know that.
That's a whole different level.
That's gonna make 'em want to pull me in more, to the point where I can't do anything.
I understand it's sensitive.
I understand it's scary.
They do need to know.
Either you tell them or I will.
Okay, so One night, I got really, really, really drunk.
I ended up waking up at one of my, like, girlfriend's house Ugh.
It's, like, it's hard.
Could I, like, close my eyes while I say it? Of course.
Just do not be vague.
Basically, she's like, "do you remember hooking up with somebody last night?" And I was like, "no.
" She's like, "you had sex with somebody.
" And I was like, "no way.
Like, that's not true.
" I just didn't remember at all what happened.
I didn't even know that I did that.
There was no way that I could not really hurt For one of my worst fears already happened.
I'm very proud of you.
That takes a lot of courage.
So bravo.
All right, Michael, I think it's important that, once and for all, you specifically apologize for what happened a few years ago.
So basically You know exactly what you need to apologize for, and you're not doing it.
Yeah You know exactly what I'm talking about, and you're dancing around it.
Apologize to her and let's have the chance to move on.
That's exactly what he's talking about.
That's ex - Yes.
- Yep.
- So - But that's that's your fault.
Sir, you are not taking responsibility right now.
You hit her, and that was your choice.
So you got arrested for pushing me? You know that is not true.
That is not yeah, that's not Actually that's not true.
Dad completely blew it.
Completely blew it.
Just continually danced around it, continually made excuses.
When I was on the floor, do you not remember kicking me? Do you not remember me being on the floor trying to get out the house, and you were kicking me? Do you not remember that? Oh, my gosh.
Okay.
Whatever.
I'm, like, done, so Oh, my God.
Yeah, no.
Do I have bruises Are you kidding me? Listen That's not true.
Come on, man.
Michael is defensive.
Michael is talking around the issue instead of apologizing.
Denial is so strong.
Denial cau makes people lie.
She needs to get out of this house.
It was, like, even just that little meeting was like a microcosm of this entire family and its dysfunction.
I think that this is post-traumatic stress.
Right.
I just I can't even, like, I was gonna apologize to him, and then he's, like, not admitting up to it.
And it's really hard for me, because I was gonna do it, but now I don't want to because he couldn't even admit up to it.
And it looks like I'm lying.
It looks like I'm the bad person, but I'm not lying.
I'm not.
Why would I lie about that? Look, Asmara's made a lot of dumb choices, and she'll admit that to you, 'cause she's adult enough to do it.
But the freakin' dad isn't adult enough to admit what he's done.
It seems like this is the situation Asmara believes that you kicked her.
Sallou believes that you kicked her.
We all understand that in moments of rage and anger, that we often do things we don't remember.
This is your opportunity.
Okay, I was angry, so Mm-hmm.
Thank you.
That was the weakest-ass apology I've ever heard.
But I just wanted to move on.
He's not who I'm here to work with.
All right.
Sallou.
Okay, um, I-I I am such a wimp, you know? I want to apologize for not being strong, for being weak and for shaming you and for not listening to you, micromanaging you, getting in your space, trying I-I want to apologize for smothering you.
I forgive you.
I can't look at you for too long.
I'm not gonna take total responsibility for driving you to drink, but if I lived with me, I might, like Be driven to drink, too.
Remember that? No comment.
Ah.
It's like, in the beginning of the week when I met sallou, I came at her hard, and then, I mean, that apology was complete and total class.
Really well done.
So I have prepared something for you.
If I just came here and yelled at you and scared you a bit and gave you a couple of pep talks and then peaced out, I would be doing you a disservice.
You live in an unstable home.
Frankly, I am not convinced the two of you are what Asmara needs right now.
I have lined up an opportunity for you to finish your junior year at rimrock trails center, which is near bend, Oregon.
And axios youth community in Colorado that could be your senior year.
If you do those first two, northwest college in Eugene has a beauty school.
They will give you a full-ride scholarship to beauty school.
It'd be getting out of your house, doing something different.
I don't know.
This is your opportunity.
This is what you've told me you want.
I just would appreciate if you'd let me think about it, like, for today.
What is there to think about? Everything.
I need to think about it at least for, like, freakin' an hour, please.
I'll give you an hour.
No problem.
This is your only shot at it.
And then it's off the table.
If you had to make a decision right now, I'm not saying you do, but if you had to make a decision right now, what would you do? - No.
- No.
I've never put together a more sweet package for any kid I've ever worked with.
That's the truth.
And if she doesn't say yes yes to this, I'm gonna be pissed.
But, Asmara, you know what? We're gonna get better.
We're all gonna get better.
Yes.
All right, Asmara.
I'd like to hear what your decision is.
No.
Yeah.
Let me hug you.
Come on.
I am committed to getting my life back on track and being successful.
If I were to not take the opportunity, I mean, what am I gonna do? Nothing.
I'm proud of myself, and I think that that's what matters most in this whole thing.
My dad, whatever, my mom, whatever, but myself, 'cause I haven't been proud of myself in four years, so It kinda feels good to be proud of myself.
It's been one hell of an experience, and I'll remember it for the rest of my life.
Do it.
I'm Josh Shipp.
When a teen is out of control And the parents are out of options This has been going on I get the call.
Tonight on "Teen Trouble" Where the party at? I've got one shot to save 16-year-old Asmara.
I'm (bleep) up.
- You are an alcoholic - All right.
You know, it gets really rough at night.
I don't think you're getting it.
I'm not gonna sit here and be like, "I'm gonna be sober for the rest of my life.
" I want you to look them in the eyes and ask for forgiveness.
Do you not remember kicking me? Listen.
You have to shut your mouth.
I know what it means to be a teen in trouble.
I was one Abandoned, abused, addicted but I beat the odds.
I'm a teen behavior specialist.
My approach is gritty, gutsy You can lie to everyone else.
You will not lie to me.
And in your face.
You're acting like a spoiled brat.
It's ridiculous.
My mission is to wake these teens and their parents up Here is a condom.
Here we have a beer can.
Before it's too late.
I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you throw away your life.
This week, I'm in Eugene, Oregon, where 16-year-old Asmara is slamming drugs and drinking herself to death.
I'm (bleep) up.
Aah! Her parents have completely lost control and have no idea how to save her.
Well, I'm just gonna say a few things.
Let's get (bleep) up.
When I was 13, that was the first time I really got trashed Completely wasted.
I completely blacked out.
I drink hard liquor, like, every weekend.
I'm about to take a shot, 'kay? I smoke weed every day.
I started doing ecstasy, like, once a week.
I'm (bleep) up.
Partying is my only way of kind of, like, making me not think about things.
I kind of do it for fun, but at the same time, I do it because when I'm (bleep) up, I feel ten times better than I do when I'm sober.
Really sad.
One night, I got belligerently drunk Like, to the point where I was, like, completely blacked out.
But I wake up, and I have this huge gash on my leg, and my belt's gone, and I'm like, "what happened last night? What the hell?" And my friend she's like, "you had sex with somebody.
" "What?!" Like, I was like, "what the (bleep)?" Like, "what are you talking about?" I didn't remember who it was, or anything.
I would never, ever, ever tell my parents that.
Party at your house? My daughter's out of control.
We have tried everything with this girl.
She's been in counseling since she was 13, pretty much every week, sometimes twice a week, and she's worse.
Did I tell you what happened Friday night? I, like, almost died.
I don't like her choices in life.
She's sneaking through the windows, not following the rules, smoking pot.
Her behavior has escalated and become so dangerous, I mean, she could die.
I run away for weeks, just weeks Just stay at friends' houses, kick it, like, not go to school, just, like, do whatever.
I haven't seen her since Thursday night.
Overall She doesn't know how to raise a kid.
Asmara, you are a gorgeous girl.
Shut the (bleep) up.
You're kind of, like, irritating me.
Some people are just prepared for teenagers.
I wasn't.
I had had this dream that I was gonna have this hippie kid, and I just thought we were gonna be meditating and burning candles together.
I didn't think we were gonna be oppositional with each other.
It wasn't always like this.
Go ahead.
Blow 'em out.
There you go.
I was 35 when I had Asmara.
First and only child.
She was a miracle.
I cannot believe that I had a child.
It was really amazing.
Me and my dad's relationship started off really, really good.
Really g it makes my tummy twirl talking about it.
Asmara was his whole life.
When Asmara was 5 or 6, we started to have more problems.
She was really hyper.
If anyone messed with her, she'd bite or She was just kind of fiery.
Asmara has always been very stubborn child.
My dad is from a different country.
His culture smoking weed like, that's just Like, that's horrible.
That's, like, a sin.
Like, he wants me to have a shawl over my face and you can only see my eyes, and he needs to understand that when you have a kid that's American, you cannot push me to follow your rules.
When Asmara was about 13, she started hanging out with the wrong crowd.
And I was like, "no way did you not just (bleep) do that.
" He lost his temper.
He he blew a fuse, basically.
He ended up, like, hitting me, definitely.
I definitely got the (bleep) beat out of me.
I'm sure he probably kicked her and I remember not being able to walk.
To, like, literally have a black eye, and have, like, (bleep) scratches on your face, and go to school the next day A frickin' 13-year-old girl should not be having to deal with that.
Yeah, that changed everything.
Because I was so hurt emotionally and physically, and broken, if I wasn't (bleep) up, and I was sober, like, I would just think about it all the time.
That's when I started (bleep) up.
That's when I started smoking weed.
That's when I started drinking, doing ecstasy.
I was bad.
Like, I just always needed to be (bleep) up constantly.
I cannot control this child.
Where the party at? I'm absolutely terrified that Asmara will get raped, go to prison, maybe she could die.
Her behavior has got me in panic mode that the worst thing's gonna happen.
I want something different in my life.
I want to be happy.
We can't find our way alone right now.
We need an angel.
I'm on my way to meet up with Asmara and her parents for the first time.
I've been studying the details of this family, and there is truly a lot at stake with Asmara.
She drinks to the point of blacking out, and this is a frequent thing that she does.
Dad gets uncomfortable with the whole dynamic, mom's an emotional basket case, and Asmara's in control.
I don't think she realizes how dangerous what she's doing is.
Asmara, at any moment, could make a decision that would end her life.
Thank you so much for having me into your home.
It's wonderful to meet you, and I'm looking forward to this week.
Why am I here? What's the point of this? What is your hope for this? I can't really reach Asmara right now.
It's just a battle of wills.
You know, anything that would help my daughter I think that you're here to help me.
Everybody goes through a rough time, and I'm going through that.
It's interesting.
You're certainly able to talk about the issues, but things still haven't changed.
I'm here for Asmara, and I'm committed to working with you guys because ultimately, I want Asmara to succeed, and and I believe she has the potential to do such.
That's why I chose her.
Right now Asmara and I are gonna spend some time together.
I want to get to know her, and then I'll be back later, and, uh, the three of us can sit down and spend some time together.
- Okay.
- All right? - Great.
- Let's go.
Part of my process is to spend a little one-on-one time with the teen I'm working with, in hopes that they'll open up to me.
You know, I don't know this guy at all.
I'm just meeting him for the first time, and I have to completely give him all my trust.
I mean, that's a lot for me.
That's a big deal.
All right, so this week, I'm gonna make you face things you'd rather not face, but it's all to get you Is it gonna be horrible? - Maybe.
- Uh-oh.
I'm here to help you change your life.
I mean, on a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you? Like 1.
- Mm-hmm.
- Really? Yeah.
I-I went through this period in my life where I lived in foster homes.
When I was 8, I was raped by a 21-year-old man who lived in one of these foster homes.
That was the beginning of the downward spiral for me.
It's like I was drinking to try to forget about that.
It's like you don't want to talk about it, but I guess I learned through that that if you don't deal with it, it'll deal with you.
I talk, though.
I feel like I'm stuck.
So it seems like you have this situation at home you don't like.
And so you do whatever you can to escape it.
- I can't feel comfortable in my own home.
- Yeah.
Like, I can't I can't get along with my mom.
I argue with my mom.
It's it's awkward around my dad.
- The - I don't want to rehash it, But you know that violent episode with your dad? Do you feel like that was kind of the beginning - Yeah.
- Of things shifting? Definitely.
It was completely (bleep) up after that.
When I go home, I like, go through the back.
- Like, I avoid seeing him.
- Mm-hmm.
There's an incident that happened like, a couple weeks ago, where he got he didn't touch me.
- Yeah.
- He has not touched me since then.
Yeah.
But he got, like, this close to my face, and, like, spit on me, and like, "get the (bleep)" yeah.
He spit on you? So yeah, he did.
It's just awkward.
- It's just weird, and you - It's just weird.
You know, like, I turn off my phone.
Like, I just want to be drunk with my friends and have a good time.
- Like that's a whole nother world and and - Exactly.
It's running away from my problems.
- And you wake up, and it's all there again.
- Exactly.
I'm, like, my main thing is, I want to be happy.
I do.
Everyone says, like, "yes, I want to change, yes, I want my life to be better.
" It's like, okay, what are you prepared to do differently in order to change? Honestly, I-I really don't know.
Are you willing to stop smoking pot? Yeah.
Are you willing to stop drinking? No.
No.
Are you willing to be honest with your parents? I mean your drinking, I mean your date rape I mean everything.
Nope.
Just gonna be honest.
Look, my goal this week is that both you and your parents own up, come clean, face the facts.
I just that's I can't.
I can't.
You say you want to change.
Prove it.
That's a lot to give up.
Are you kidding me? I can't even imagine how these next four days are gonna go.
I don't think you're getting it.
I'm not trying to be a jerk.
You have to shut your mouth.
One of the first things I do when I'm working with parents is to excavate their teen's room.
You have the right as a parent to know what your kid's up to.
All right, so, yeah.
You guys can hang out.
I'll look around.
I'm just looking for any sort of irregularities, anything that seems out of place.
Always want to be thorough.
You never know.
- Wow.
- Mm.
There is definitely some weed in there.
Yeah, that's really oh, my goodness.
That's horrible.
Here we have a drawerful of condoms.
What this means is that the stakes are even higher of how important it is that both, she has a good relationship with you as a father and and also that you as a mother, you have that influence about a topic - that could be so important.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
All right.
So - What is a pacifier? - Pacifier.
Pacifier is typically common in the culture of kids doing ecstasy, raving, these sorts of things.
Look, these are the facts.
Don't get depressed about it.
This is what we're dealing with.
These sorts of things are going on.
You know, this is helpful to do every couple of weeks.
And and it's helpful to to let your daughter know that you will be doing it.
An at-risk teen, they need an environment that is emotionally stable.
Do you feel like you Model what being emotionally healthy means? Not all the time.
Okay.
Okay.
Yourself? Very much.
About 90%, yes.
I control myself.
As you know, what happened to me before, I get in trouble.
- You know, I - Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
You know, I've learned a lot and and then I change.
She mentioned to me, you You spit in her face at some point.
- Was that during then? - No, no, I don't I don't think so, spit.
I I think you spit on the ground.
- But I don't remember - Spitting, yeah.
I because I'm not really good in those crisis situations Mm-hmm.
I'm usually running around trying to fix everything.
- Right.
Like you're trying to do right now.
- Uh - I'm I'm talking to him.
- Uh-huh.
I don't think I spit in her face, but I was very close.
- I remember, I was taking away the phone from her.
- He spits a lot when he talks.
He didn't hit her.
I need you not to jump in here.
Okay.
I'm I'm just trying to get the facts.
- That's what she told me.
- Yeah.
- I just want to understand the facts.
- Yeah.
- And - It it seems like when things For Asmara get challenging, she sort of cuts and runs.
Where do you think she learned that? It's hard to know where she get it.
I think she just get it from herself.
I wonder if she learned to run away from you.
- Well - Don't fight this.
Think about when she was born, Michael.
We broke up six months later.
I mean You you left, always.
When things get hard, Michael goes in and I do it, too, where he doesn't Sure, all right, no rescue.
Let's just pause right here.
- Yeah, thanks.
- I gotta ask you the hard stuff.
That's why I'm here.
Sure, sure.
Is it is it at least a possibility? It could be.
All right.
Here's what I know.
It could be.
Mm-hmm.
What she has seen a handful of times in her life is that when something gets hard Split.
Uh-huh.
Even if it's for a good reason, even if it's to something else Here's the let me interrupt you.
- But still - Here's the fact of the matter.
In your parenting, you have trained Asmara to tune you out.
Right? I'm I'm not trying to be a jerk.
You have to shut your mouth.
Open the ears, listen.
I would love her to just sit down and have a conversa I would love to listen to her.
You're challenging to have a conversation with.
When you are constantly filling the The empty space.
As you just did There's no room for her.
You gotta give her that space.
Can you do that? I mean, I'll do anything for Asmara.
This is your future if you do not change.
You know, it gets really rough at night.
You are the one that is doing this to yourself.
You're not gonna emotionally play me That's not what I'm (bleep) All right, so I promised you guys an intense week.
And tonight, that starts.
Do me a favor, get dressed, and make sure that you wear some very warm clothing.
Okay.
All right? Mm-hmm.
Good.
So part of my process is to fast-forward for a teenager where their choices are taking them.
The number one reason teens become homeless is because they come from emotionally unstable homes.
Combine that with her drinking, your daughter is a prime candidate for becoming homeless.
So tonight she's going to spend the night on the streets, homeless.
I want to scare the crap out of her But I don't want her to get hurt.
This is the future she is facing if she does not change.
It's gonna be probably as hard for me Tonight as her mother as it is for her.
I have no idea what's gonna happen.
I'm expecting the worst, 'cause he said it was gonna be hard.
I just don't think it's Worth my time, so I don't know.
Yesterday Asmara seemed open and optimistic.
But today I feel like she's putting up a wall.
Here's what's going on.
This is a youth homeless shelter.
This is your future if you do not change.
Oh.
That's kinda (bleep).
But I just don't This is where homeless teens come because they have no one else to help them.
All right.
You are, whether or not you want to admit it, an alcoholic.
No.
And when people are addicts, they eventually cut off all relationships that are important to them.
They burn those bridges.
This is where you're going to end up.
I know you're smiling and you think it's cute.
And I know you don't like facing the truth, but tonight I'm gonna shove the truth in your face.
This is it.
Do it.
All right.
Let's go.
Checking her in.
I don't think I would ever be homeless.
My parents would never let me be in that position.
I think that he made a wrong decision by doing this.
I'll go with it, but I don't think that it's showing me anything.
Asmara's naive.
She thinks her parents are never gonna kick her out, but eventually, everyone, and I mean everyone, is gonna get tired of this, and then she's gonna be on her own.
Hey, what's up? How you doin'? Hey.
This is Asia.
Hi, how you doin'? Hi.
It's nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, too.
- This is Asmara - Hi.
- Who I was telling you about.
Okay, cool.
She has a very similar story to yours.
I wanted the two of you to spend some time together.
It's gonna be a long night.
You know, it gets really rough at night.
I'm not gonna lie.
You gotta be really careful because if you get too hidden, that's not good.
But if you're too out in the open, that's really not good.
Watch out for the piss right there.
Okay.
I left home when I was 15.
I got tired of my mom crying, my dad mad at me all the time.
I knew that my parents would never kick me out, but I kinda kicked myself out.
I thought I had my life under control, but apparently, I didn't, you know? It's (bleep) cold.
I know.
Yeah.
Yeah, I don't blame you.
You do gotta move around a little bit so that you're not too easy of a target.
I can't feel my feet.
I don't know how you do this every day.
I'm already tired of it.
Oh (bleep).
All right.
Girl, we gotta get outta here.
The hard part is sleeping.
I can't sleep outside.
I can't.
I never have been able to.
I can't even camp.
- What's up? - What up? How you feelin'? I miss my bed.
Do you? I've been listening.
I'm sure.
I don't think you're getting it.
You don't think so? No.
So here's what's gonna happen tonight you're sleeping here.
You don't have a choice.
Look, you're not gonna emotionally play me.
You're not gonna manipulate me That's not what I'm (bleep) Trying to do.
You are the one that is doing this to yourself.
You're the one that runs away.
You're the one that does the drugs.
You're the one that drinks.
All right.
So, Asia, thank you.
If you could go over there.
Guys, I'm let's go.
Let's go.
I'm kind of overwhelmed right now.
Usually I'm home and I'm pissed and, like, I'm thinking about getting out of there fast as I can.
But right now I'm thinking about getting back home as fast as I can.
I miss my mom.
I'm gonna give my mom a big hug, definitely.
I'm ready to go home.
Morning.
I think Asia's really, really cool, and I get it.
I think that that's horrible that this is her life.
All right.
Well, give me a hug.
Take care of yourself.
Yeah, you, too.
It's just really sad that it got to that point that I'd never want to take my life.
Yeah, I'm ready to go home.
Can I give you a hug? Yeah.
Got a hug.
Wow.
I'm not gonna sit here and be like, "I'm gonna be sober for the rest of my life.
" Are you kidding me? Binge drinking and blacking out can do a lot more than just put you on the streets.
It can put you in the grave.
I've flown Debbie in from California because I'm hoping that hearing her story will be the wake-up call that Asmara and her parents desperately need.
This is Debbie.
She has an incredible story that I want you to hear.
Debbie, take it away.
On December 20, 2008, my beautiful 17-year-old daughter shelby arrived at a home of another friend where there was a set of parents and three or four of their college-age friends.
The girls started drinking.
And within one hour Shelby became violently ill.
She vomited so strongly that her head hit the toilet bowl, and not one person called for help.
I got the call when the coroner's van was there.
Shelby died of acute alcohol poisoning.
Drinking to the point of blacking out cost Debbie's daughter her life.
And I don't want that to happen to you, too.
Did you know that every time you black out, the next shelf down is the death zone? If you wake up, you're lucky.
If you don't, you've slipped into the death zone.
I just felt so overwhelmed at that point.
I wanted to get out of there.
Everybody was just giving me a weird vibe.
So I just kinda just shut everybody out.
You do not want this.
You do not.
You are her mother.
No one else.
You are her father.
No one else.
And you guys need to love her enough to say, "we will express our love through laying down the boundaries.
" Asmara, are you willing to give your parents permission to have boundaries around drinking? I'm not gonna make a promise.
I'm not coming here expecting you to all of a sudden Change completely this week.
It's not realistic for - in that instant, you to go, "all right" - Yeah.
- "I'm done drinking.
" - Exactly.
But here's what is realistic maybe I should consider what it would take to stop drinking and for me to not lie to myself about what the risks are.
That's a lot to give up, and I don't think I'm ready to do that.
Alcohol is a lot to give up? - No.
Just everything.
- Drinking is a lot to give up? Vomiting is a lot to give up? Are you kidding me? I'm not gonna sit here and be, like, "I'm gonna be sober for the rest of my life "and I'm not gonna drink "and I'm not gonna do any drugs, and I'm not gonna do anything.
" I'm gonna sit here and I'm gonna be straight the up with you.
I flew her here for you.
She poured her heart out about her how daughter died, and I feel like you don't care.
This morning, I had a lot of hope and I was feeling pretty good about Asmara.
And right now I feel like complete and total crap.
But I'm not through.
I've got one other thing I want to put her through.
I want to see how she responds to that.
But if she's not showing me she's still serious, I feel like this is This is gonna be the one that doesn't work.
I want to introduce you to shelby.
She has an incredible story that I hope you'll get a lot out of.
When I was at the beginning of high school, I went to parties all the time, doing drugs and drinking.
Thought nothing of it.
My life was just, you know, having fun.
Things didn't really happen that were, like, super bad, so I never knew the repercussions that could come from it until I turned 17.
I met a guy.
We started to date, and things were pretty normal, you know? One night, I went to his house.
And when I decided that I wanted to leave, he took my keys, took my phone, took my computer, and told me that I was staying there and that I wasn't gonna leave.
For the next six months, I was forced to do tons of drugs and sleep with tons of men that I didn't know.
Later down the road, I found out that he had, uh Taken photos and videos with hidden cameras and sold it on the Internet.
To not remember those things that are happening to you And then I see a video of somebody, like, peeing on me or spitting on me I thought I was in control.
Never did I think, you know, when I was at parties and stuff, doing drugs and drinking, that I would become a sex slave or somebody's property.
Mm.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
One night, he shot me up with meth, and I overdosed, and They threw me in a bathtub for three days.
And they were just gonna let me die there if I hadn't woken up, because they didn't care about me.
Making those small, bad decisions can lead you into situations that you just can't get out of.
I am three years clean and sober.
And I'm just now, like, it's awful what shelby back on trahas gone through.
But the good news for you is that you can set yourself free.
I see what you mean.
You could sleep on the streets, you could have somebody tell you that their daughter died from alcohol poisoning, but it didn't make me feel like I did when I sat in this room.
If she can go through all of that and still have a good attitude, then I think anybody can do anything.
I understand it's sensitive.
I understand it's scary.
That's gonna make 'em pull me in more.
Either you tell them or I will.
All right, so coming up is a family summit, and the point of all this is for, once and for all, this family to lay all the cards on the table, for them to do what they do not like to do, which is face the truth and deal with it.
All right, so, this is a very important time where I'm gonna ask each of you to confess things that you need to confess, apologize to those you need to apologize to, and ask for forgiveness so you guys, as a family, can move on.
So, Asmara, for you, I think it's important that you confess to your parents how much alcohol you drink and how often.
I think it's important.
Do I have to do that? Your parents should know.
I don't think that they should.
Look, this is getting the facts out and moving on.
I want you to look them in the eyes, tell them the details how much alcohol and how often.
Pretty often.
What does "pretty often" mean? Like, every weekend.
It's usually It's usually hard liquor, yeah.
All right.
I also think it would be important for you to share with your parents what happened to you that instance in which you blacked out.
I don't think that they should know that.
That's a whole different level.
That's gonna make 'em want to pull me in more, to the point where I can't do anything.
I understand it's sensitive.
I understand it's scary.
They do need to know.
Either you tell them or I will.
Okay, so One night, I got really, really, really drunk.
I ended up waking up at one of my, like, girlfriend's house Ugh.
It's, like, it's hard.
Could I, like, close my eyes while I say it? Of course.
Just do not be vague.
Basically, she's like, "do you remember hooking up with somebody last night?" And I was like, "no.
" She's like, "you had sex with somebody.
" And I was like, "no way.
Like, that's not true.
" I just didn't remember at all what happened.
I didn't even know that I did that.
There was no way that I could not really hurt For one of my worst fears already happened.
I'm very proud of you.
That takes a lot of courage.
So bravo.
All right, Michael, I think it's important that, once and for all, you specifically apologize for what happened a few years ago.
So basically You know exactly what you need to apologize for, and you're not doing it.
Yeah You know exactly what I'm talking about, and you're dancing around it.
Apologize to her and let's have the chance to move on.
That's exactly what he's talking about.
That's ex - Yes.
- Yep.
- So - But that's that's your fault.
Sir, you are not taking responsibility right now.
You hit her, and that was your choice.
So you got arrested for pushing me? You know that is not true.
That is not yeah, that's not Actually that's not true.
Dad completely blew it.
Completely blew it.
Just continually danced around it, continually made excuses.
When I was on the floor, do you not remember kicking me? Do you not remember me being on the floor trying to get out the house, and you were kicking me? Do you not remember that? Oh, my gosh.
Okay.
Whatever.
I'm, like, done, so Oh, my God.
Yeah, no.
Do I have bruises Are you kidding me? Listen That's not true.
Come on, man.
Michael is defensive.
Michael is talking around the issue instead of apologizing.
Denial is so strong.
Denial cau makes people lie.
She needs to get out of this house.
It was, like, even just that little meeting was like a microcosm of this entire family and its dysfunction.
I think that this is post-traumatic stress.
Right.
I just I can't even, like, I was gonna apologize to him, and then he's, like, not admitting up to it.
And it's really hard for me, because I was gonna do it, but now I don't want to because he couldn't even admit up to it.
And it looks like I'm lying.
It looks like I'm the bad person, but I'm not lying.
I'm not.
Why would I lie about that? Look, Asmara's made a lot of dumb choices, and she'll admit that to you, 'cause she's adult enough to do it.
But the freakin' dad isn't adult enough to admit what he's done.
It seems like this is the situation Asmara believes that you kicked her.
Sallou believes that you kicked her.
We all understand that in moments of rage and anger, that we often do things we don't remember.
This is your opportunity.
Okay, I was angry, so Mm-hmm.
Thank you.
That was the weakest-ass apology I've ever heard.
But I just wanted to move on.
He's not who I'm here to work with.
All right.
Sallou.
Okay, um, I-I I am such a wimp, you know? I want to apologize for not being strong, for being weak and for shaming you and for not listening to you, micromanaging you, getting in your space, trying I-I want to apologize for smothering you.
I forgive you.
I can't look at you for too long.
I'm not gonna take total responsibility for driving you to drink, but if I lived with me, I might, like Be driven to drink, too.
Remember that? No comment.
Ah.
It's like, in the beginning of the week when I met sallou, I came at her hard, and then, I mean, that apology was complete and total class.
Really well done.
So I have prepared something for you.
If I just came here and yelled at you and scared you a bit and gave you a couple of pep talks and then peaced out, I would be doing you a disservice.
You live in an unstable home.
Frankly, I am not convinced the two of you are what Asmara needs right now.
I have lined up an opportunity for you to finish your junior year at rimrock trails center, which is near bend, Oregon.
And axios youth community in Colorado that could be your senior year.
If you do those first two, northwest college in Eugene has a beauty school.
They will give you a full-ride scholarship to beauty school.
It'd be getting out of your house, doing something different.
I don't know.
This is your opportunity.
This is what you've told me you want.
I just would appreciate if you'd let me think about it, like, for today.
What is there to think about? Everything.
I need to think about it at least for, like, freakin' an hour, please.
I'll give you an hour.
No problem.
This is your only shot at it.
And then it's off the table.
If you had to make a decision right now, I'm not saying you do, but if you had to make a decision right now, what would you do? - No.
- No.
I've never put together a more sweet package for any kid I've ever worked with.
That's the truth.
And if she doesn't say yes yes to this, I'm gonna be pissed.
But, Asmara, you know what? We're gonna get better.
We're all gonna get better.
Yes.
All right, Asmara.
I'd like to hear what your decision is.
No.
Yeah.
Let me hug you.
Come on.
I am committed to getting my life back on track and being successful.
If I were to not take the opportunity, I mean, what am I gonna do? Nothing.
I'm proud of myself, and I think that that's what matters most in this whole thing.
My dad, whatever, my mom, whatever, but myself, 'cause I haven't been proud of myself in four years, so It kinda feels good to be proud of myself.
It's been one hell of an experience, and I'll remember it for the rest of my life.