Christi's Interview

I started smoking when I was really young. Gosh, I must have been 12, 13 years old. I grew up in a family of smokers. I decided to quit after a bunch of things really came to my attention, but what really opened my eyes was when my grandmother passed away. You know, she had smoked her entire life and I realized, you know, that I was headed down the same path. You know, it was really hard and I had to build a support system, and being that my mother and my sister, you know, smoked all the time and they were kind of my influences, I got them together and said, “Hey, you know, we need to do something about this. Will you help me?” So it took some time, but we really began to encourage each other so it helped us all quit. I've got people running up to me saying, “I heard what you did, you did it, and I'm so proud of you,” you know, “you're such an influence now,” and that's what I want to be. I want to be, you know, a role model for people who are trying to kick this addiction. You know, it's just such a great feeling to have accomplished something so great. You know, I feel like, gosh, if I can do this everything else is, you know, is nothing. You know, I've accomplished the greatest thing.