With her anger running out of control Jewel Nelson was a violent teenager fighting constantly.

Her behaviour saw her suspended numerous times from CedarBridge Academy where she was failing. But thanks to the intervention of the Mirrors programme she is now back on track, an articulate girl focused on her goals. And now she is also able to analyse why she was so violent.

She believes her fights were attention-seeking behaviour as she looked for attention in all the wrong places.

"Sometimes people don't speak up when they should, I just wished I had someone who spoke up to me and said 'look you are going down the wrong path'.

"I felt I wanted attention, but honestly I really didn't need it because I had it all that time, I was just too blinded to see."

Recalling her violent past she said: "I wasn't one to start things but if you pushed my buttons I didn't have any control.

"I had to learn it's not always about you taking it into your own hands, it's about other people who can help you.

"There is nothing wrong about getting help, but I was pretty much starving in that case."

Jewel mostly fought outside school but being continually angry made it impossible to focus on school work.

"I was mad with everyone but I wanted to be happy so I knew I needed to fix things in myself in order to be happy."

She was recommended for Mirrors by her CedarBridge school counsellor and her mom checked the programme out.

"But I really did it for myself if you do stuff for other people you only really do it for so long."

Suffering from peer pressure she felt it was time to mature. "I was involved in fights. I didn't want to be seen as a bad girl all my life. I wanted to be a good example.

"I can't blame everybody for what's going on in my life. I have to seize the situation, take the bull by the horns. It wasn't like I was stupid. I just needed to apply myself."

Thankfully Jewel, now 19, took to Mirrors immediately.

"I really wanted to build character. I wanted to become a better person, with integrity and that's exactly what it did for me.

"It gave me backbone. Before that I was a pushover, anybody could tell me to do something and I would do it. I realised it would lead to destruction.

"But if you don't pay attention in school you can't really pursue anything in life, you will drop out of a job."

She said the Mirrors programme gave her determination to move on in life and not let her anger run her. Now she hopes she can help other teenagers making the same mistakes.

Keenly interested in the performing arts, Jewel realised a basic education was necessary for her to pursue that as a career.

Still at school she now hopes to go away to a performing arts school.

"I would recommend the Mirrors programme to everybody, younger kids, older kids.

"Definitely men in Bermuda, there are a lot flaws, a lot of people going through baby-momma and baby-daddy traumas. We need more men to step up to the plate as being fathers not just a daddy.

"I would recommend it to everyone in the world."

Those feelings are shared by Wendelle Lightbourne. Like Jewel he is now 19 having joined Mirrors two years ago.

The Warwick teenager was always in trouble. But he said the Mirrors programme encouraged attendees to really examine their past and why they had problems.

Suffering with anger overload, Wendelle still has to work on controlling himself. "Now it is easier than it was before. I can look at myself and think before I act."

Once drifting, he is now focused. "It helped me to look at myself and think before I act. It has turned my life around, I now follow my goals. I want to become a diesel mechanic.

"I would recommend Mirrors to anybody."

* Tomorrow in the third part of the series, Matthew Taylor examines why young men are lashing out.