This Boy Is Me: Smith Alley’s Story

I am overly excited to introduce Smith Alley, a high school student boldly talking about the effects of pornography and social media on youth today. I asked Smith Alley to write a guest post because I believe it’s vital we understand what our children are facing. His willingness to self-identify as someone who struggled with porn at a young age is courageous and inspiring. If you want to hear more from Smith, check out his presentation, Peeking Through the Eyes of Youth.

I have a product that will make you happier than the day before. Day in and day out without fail. Are you interested? I hate to tell you this product isn’t something you can add into your Amazon shopping cart with one click. It won’t be found at your local grocery store and isn’t even sold at the largest of Costco’s.

It’s a mindset. It comes from within yourself. I believe the smallest of lights can shatter the darkness with one choice. Let me explain.

When I was younger, I used to walk up the street to play with the neighbor’s dog, Monty. He was the sweetest English collie you would ever meet. Monty’s owners were named Devon and Ruth. They were an old couple who have since passed from this life. This couple radiated light. Just seeing their house gave me a good feeling inside. Something Devon said has always stuck with my family. “I’ve had hard days in my life, but I’ve never had a bad day. Life is good.” This man had seen all sorts of trials through his life. He lived through the great depression, saw WWII, lost a 9-month-old baby, and a 19-year-old son to suicide. Not to mention the fact that he had lost one arm and could only see out of his left eye. His light shined through all that darkness. It’s the light I’ve chosen to try to live with.

My name is Smith Alley. I am 17 years old and a senior in high school. I’ve had hard days in my life, but I’ve never had a bad day. A bad day would entail that I didn’t learn anything.

Picture a young boy. From all too normal situations from years in elementary school, this boy had been bullied for his size and his stutter. At a young age he began to believe everything the world was telling him. He believed he wasn’t enough. After an innocent exposure to pornography, he found escape and love in the content. It was his fix to the emotional pain he was experiencing. Social media, video games, and pornography consumed his life. Over the years his natural, bright smile faded away, and those around him got to know the façade he put up to hide his pain. At 14, legal trouble showed up at his door. Now in most stories, this is the beginning of a very sad life.

This boy is me. It is my life story. This is where my choice was made. During the most emotional day of my life, when my parents found out about everything I had been involved in, I made the most important decision of my life. I decided my faults, failures, and struggles would not predetermine who I would become. I would not follow the path that normally comes from a life of secrecy and pornography.

I quickly joined a recovery program and met with my religious leaders. I started to build good habits to take place of my bad ones. My parents got me a therapist, and we worked on my mental health struggles. Slowly but surely, I began to feel better about myself. I destroyed my bad habits, and my relationships with my family were restored.

After having felt so much emotional pain, I wanted to prevent others from ever falling as far as I did. When I was 15 I decided to put on an event for my community where I spoke about the harmful effects of social media and pornography. A few months later I started a company called protechtstrong, helping families set up their tech safely and create media goals. I started to work with Collin Kartchner and have cherished the relationship I had with him.

I have now spoken to tens of thousands of people throughout several different states.  I started a non-profit called The Live Life Bigger Foundation, giving resources and content to inspire people to live a life beyond their screen and cherish this amazing life we have been given.

We cannot choose the life we are given, but we can choose the way we decide to live it. Have hope. I am a living example that lives can be turned around, battles can be won, and people can change.

You just have to believe it too.

If you have been inspired by Smith Alley and his story, please share this post so others can understand the pervasiveness of pornography and the effects it’s causing on children. Subscribe below for updates and receive a FREE downloadable PDF.

About the author

Smith Alley

Founder at The Live Life Bigger Foundation | + posts

Smith Alley is the founder of The Live Life Bigger Foundation. After deciding to change the course of his life at age 14, he faces his struggles with pornography and mental health head on, advocating about the effects of social media on teens. Now a senior in high school, Smith speaks to groups around the country, operates his nonprofit, continues to work on his business protechtstrong, all while doing school, playing lacrosse, and keeping up with his car and motorcycle hobbies. Smith hopes his story and his young perspectives will inspire, and his love for others will be felt in leaps and bounds.

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