During high school I always wanted to be a part of the group of girls who acted snobby, pretty, and rich. But they would never accept me because I was a nice person, Spanish, and didn’t have as much money as they had. I ended up being a part of the Spanish group, which was fine, but I always looked to that other group as being better.

I met a girl in school who told me that I could make a lot of money. She took me to meet a man that would change my life for what I thought would be forever. I was immediately impressed with his huge house. He had nice cars and was very rich. All of his so-called ‘Hoes’ were not as pretty as I expected but they had brand new Mercedes Benz’s and a lot of money. I knew I could soon be the prettiest and richest one of them all.

This man soon became my pimp. He was unlike anyone I had ever met before because he made me feel special. We would sit for almost three hours at a time during his speeches of encouragement. He always talked about not doing drugs and how we needed to be good people. He always kept my attention because he never talked about pimp-Hoe things. He talked as if he was a teacher and I was his student. I had finally found someone who talked to me like I really mattered. He even promised me a Mercedes Benz.

My first night out I was misled into believing I was going to be a real escort. I would soon be able to go out with really rich guys who would cater to my every need. I would have really nice clothes and drive an expensive car. Reality soon set in when I was escorted all right…right over to Harry Hines. Harry Hines is a street in Dallas where you can find a wide range of women. After driving around for a few minutes one could soon find a woman or man who could supply their every need if the price was right.

We would drive around and look for guys. Whoever got the first trick would supply us with the hotel room for the rest of the night. The trick would rent the hotel room and it was understood between us ‘Hoes’ that we would share that room. When one of us was done, we would put the key on top of the sprinkler box outside for the next ‘Hoe’ and her trick. The management was even in on it.

In just a couple of weeks I learned to live a lie. Soon, my nights turned into days and my days into others. I was forgetting what day it was. I was so confused and went days without eating or sleeping.

There was even a special ‘Hoe’ talk. Any time we were around our tricks or in a public place, we would talk a certain way so no one could understand what we were talking about. They would start to talk like this in front of me and I would have to remind the other girls that I was a new girl. It was also understood that I had to call the other girls my ‘Wife in Laws’. I was just baffled trying to understand why I had to call them that because they were any thing but my family.

Two weeks after I got there I pleaded with them to let me call my family. The ‘Wife in Laws’ and my pimp would sit me down every time and talk me out of it. They said that I could go back and visit after I had a new car, a huge apartment, and a lot of money. “You can show them you can make it on your own,” they would say. But deep in inside I would be aching and crying thinking about what my father and mother must be going through. When I did get to finally call they made me call anonymously. I set up a visit at a local Denny’s Restaurant. I made my father promise that he wouldn’t try anything funny. One of the other ‘Hoes ‘ had to drive me there because my pimp didn’t trust me. When I got into the restaurant my father had a table set for five people. I immediately thought, “Great, he has really messed up with me this time”. But I was so glad to see him. All I really wanted for him to do was hold me and tell me everything would be all right. But of course I had to portray this ‘tough’ attitude and pretend as if I was mad at him. Then, all of a sudden, several of my high school friends walked up and sat down. They all began to tell me how much they cared about and loved me. They were crying in between their words. I was sobbing inside but I just couldn’t break down and let them think I was weak.

When it was time to leave, I really wanted to jump in the car with my dad but that other ‘Hoe’ was there waiting for me in her car. I was scared for my life and what my pimp would do to me if I left with my dad. So, I got into the car with that girl and we left. I was looking into the rearview mirror hoping that my dad would follow us…and he was. I just knew he would rescue me. After I got back to the house I was very sad but couldn’t let anyone know. I had to devise a way to get back home. I really missed school and I was starting to get worried about committing truancy. Now how insane is that? Here I was a prostitute and I was worried about getting in trouble for skipping school! Finally, the pimp let me go back to school. After all, I only had a few short months left to graduate. I only had to complete these last three classes to graduate. I was so tired in all of my classes from working the night before. So I wasn’t surprised when I had a tap on my shoulder while I was sound asleep in my third class that day. It was the high-school principal. While he was walking me down the hall he was very nice and saying that everything was okay. He assured me that we could work something out. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about but I assumed he was talking about me missing so much school. I walked into his office and there sat a police officer and my dad. “Oh my goodness,” I said to myself. He knew what I had been up to and up to this point I thought I had covered all of my tracks.

It was the first time that I had ever seen my dad cry. He is a very big stocky guy. I had never pictured him caring so much for me unconditionally. I thought he would be very mad at me, but the whole time he let me know how much he really loved me, no matter what.

On the way home he told me that a woman would talk to me from an organization called Amy’s Friends (now New Friends New Life). He wouldn’t let me know anything more about her or the organization. I waited a while and soon she arrived. We sat down on the couch and she began immediately with her story. It was very non-threatening. She was very kind and she spoke about how she made a lot of bad decisions in her life, too. She had been abused in a lot of different ways. I didn’t relate to her in that way but in so many other areas I related right away. She brought tears to my eyes and made me feel so much better in a lot of ways. I immediately felt that since some one else did it, maybe I could do it. My self-esteem rose to a point where I could make different choices than I had made before.

To tell you the truth, I was scared to attend the support group of New Friends New Life. My father promised me a good dinner after the first meeting if I would just go. After the third meeting I finally started to feel comfortable. We studied the 12 Steps for Christians in the group and it helped me realize a lot about God, others, and myself.

There are so many good things that have resulted from attending New Friends New Life and leaving prostitution. I feel more confident and don’t feel like I am below anyone any more. I was able to graduate with my high-school class and I received a scholarship from New Friends New Life to attend college to become a pilot. I strive to be a positive role model for my friends. I finally know what God’s plan is for my life. I am to help others in Mexico who are often left behind and have no one else to help them.

Thank you God and thank you New Friends New Life for saving my life!

God Bless!

-Libby