Heartthrob/actor/rockstar Jared Leto recently spoke to U.K. magazine The Big Issue about his consideration to deal drugs as a struggling teenager.

Mr. “Angel Face” (Fight Club – 1999) recently wrote a letter to his teenage self for The Big Issue outlining his rebellious youth, and how the actor/musician might have easily slipped into a world of addiction and abuse.

“I was at a crossroads in life when I was 16. I was taking a look at my opportunities and what I’d do with my life and how I’d go about it.” Says Leto. “I didn’t know I was going to be an actor, I thought I might be an artist of a painter. Or maybe a drug dealer. But I didn’t know which path I would take. It’s just fortunate that I chose one over the other.”

Looking back at his teenage years, Leto elaborates, “I was in trouble quite a bit with the authorities, any person who made rules or the law. I dropped out of school. My adolescence was actually a very turbulent time for me. … Probably a lot of my behavior was related to doing drugs.”

Positive Decision Making

“I’d like to go back and reassure my younger self that things will be okay and he should remember how much our choices impact on our lives and how much responsibility we have for our own lives. And how much hard work pays off. And that it’s okay to dream as big as you can dream. I’d tell him to hang on tight, and listen, and to bet on himself.”

With so many Hollywood elite falling to the allure of drug and alcohol abuse, Leto’s assertion toward positive decision-making and perseverance is one worth applauding. Just remember… the decisions you make now; the lifestyle you choose; they will stick with you. Keep the faith… the good is always around the bend.

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