Cocaine has been the downfall of millions upon millions of adults. They become addicted, go to rehab if they’re lucky, and then rehab again and again until they fight the beast or the beast

fights them.

  Junior Harlee Bell didn’t have rehab to get over her addiction to crack cocaine. She was born addicted to it. Her rehab was screaming and crying for nine months straight in her foster mom’s arms. That’s not the only thing she had to overcome at birth, however. When she was taken from her mother’s house, she was pronounced, “failure to thrive,” meaning that she was underweight for her age. She was born with a cleft palate, which means the roof of her mouth was missing when she was born. She also had a lot of alcohol in her system when she was born, “and who knows what else,” Bell said.

  To say that drugs have affected Bell’s life would be an understatement, but Harlee has made the most of her situation.

  “They said that kids who are crack babies excel in arts rather than math and science. I’m an A [and] B student, so I kind of knocked that one out,” Bell said. “But I am very artistic. I draw graffiti. Not like on trains or anything, though. I kind of draw all sorts of stuff. I just make up my own designs as I go.”

  The most prominent way that cocaine has affected her life, however, has been her family. Bell was placed into the foster care system at three months old and was then placed with a family who later adopted her when she was three years old.

  “I’m so thankful to be taken out of that situation and put with a family who actually took care of me,” Bell said. “I have to give kudos to my mom because she was there for me and she took me in knowing nothing about me and just loved me because I needed love…I’m so, so thankful for the parents I have.”

  Bell’s parents have always been open with her about her adoption. She’s known from day one how she came to be in their care, and is glad for it.

  “I was told [that I was adopted] since I was little. There are a lot of movies where I think it’s kind of rude that the parents don’t tell the kids [that they’re adopted] until they’re adults. I’m very grateful of my parents always telling me. They’ve told me, ‘You know, you weren’t born with us but we raised you.’” Bell said.

  But even though Bell has a happy family and is thankful for her parents, she still felt hurt by her biological mother.

  “It kind of hurts you to know that you weren’t loved enough and were kind of just kicked off to the curb,” Bell said. “It kind of made me feel like, what was wrong with me? Why did nobody want me? And it just kind of made me feel sad that I was unwanted. I really just blame my mom [for that]. Like it was her fault. Blame can only go so far until you have to just be responsible and say it happened and it’s over now. You can’t hold onto things. I hurt for so long but I finally just had to realize that she’s just so messed up in the head that she’s not going to listen. She didn’t care then so why is she going to care now?”

  With that being said, Bell has stopped blaming her biological mother for her hardships. She still has a very positive outlook on her situation.

  “You shouldn’t let things that happen to you affect you because you will hang onto that and use that as an excuse…Whenever I do bad on something, math in particular, whenever I’m struggling with it, I always have that in the back of my head, ‘There’s a reason why you’re not getting it. They said you wouldn’t be good at this stuff.’  But you can’t use that as an excuse. You really shouldn’t let what affects you affect you in the future because you can overcome those things. I overcame drugs, something that most adults can’t do without help. So for me, being three months old and being able to overcome an addiction to crack cocaine, it’s pretty incredible,” Bell said.

  And stronger she has become. Bell now plans to attend college and have a career doing things for the good of others, perhaps even becoming a social worker.

  Bell has gone through a lot. She was born addicted to cocaine and alcohol and possibly other things. She went through withdrawal for nine months, just having to scream and cry it out with her foster mom right there with her. She has gone through several surgeries to correct the cleft palate she was born with, an effect of the cocaine. She’s lost her biological father without really knowing him. She went from blaming her mother for what happened to her to accepting that it happened and making the best of a situation. She has become an artist and an A and B student. She has become a stronger person from this situation.

  A failure to thrive?

  Not a chance.