Singer Demi Lovato didn't think she would make it to her 21st birthday.
The Skyscraper star has openly discussed her battle with alcohol and drugs, her eating disorder and issues with self harm in the last few years, but while the 23-year-old has now got her demons under control, at the height of her problems, she didn't think she would make it to her twenties.
“I lived fast and I was going to die young,” she told American Way magazine. “I didn’t think I would make it to 21.”
Demi had already witnessed a number of her peers going through similar meltdowns, with Britney Spears shaving her head and checking in and out of rehab in 2007, while actress Lindsay Lohan was arrested for DUI and spent a brief stint behind bars.
At the time, Demi was making Disney movie Camp Rock with the Jonas Brothers and had a feeling of foreboding she could end up going down the same path.
"I was definitely like, ‘Oh crap. In three years, that’s going to be me'" she recalled.
When the singer eventually did check into rehab for her problems at the age of 18, she worried how it would be perceived by the media.
"So now I’m in rehab, and I thought, ‘Oh great, now the world thinks I’m just another stereotype,'" she said.
When Demi came out of treatment, she quickly became a role model to her young fans who were also struggling with similar issues, but at first, the star wasn't comfortable with such a responsibility.
“I didn’t go into treatment thinking, ‘OK, now I’m going to be an inspiration,’?” she said. “At times I was resentful for having that kind of responsibility, but now, it’s really become a part of my life. It holds me accountable.”
In fact, Demi cherishes the moments she gets to spend with her fans and hear their stories in person.
“When I have meet-and-greets, I can’t tell you the amount of times that girls will show me their arms covered in scars or cuts,” she explained. “They’ll tell me, ‘You helped me get through this. Because of you, I stopped self-harming,’ or ‘I got sober.’ Hearing those things gave my life new meaning.”
