Kreayshawn recently opened up about her youth, her struggles and her experience with Job Corps. The Bay area's own talked about what helped her change her life around and how she views her challenges as an opportunity to help others.

“I went through so many hard, crazy, random things, even in my childhood,” she told the San Francisco Examiner in a piece promoting her show on December 31.“For a second I thought, ‘What is my life going to be?’ It was insane — I could’ve wound up dead.”

However, she feels her life changed once she sought Job Corps, a free program that helps at-risk, low-income youth.
“I really think it’s a good place to go,” she noted. “Right before I went, I was living at (Mob partner) V-Nasty’s house, and I just didn’t really see myself doing much of anything. Then I heard of Job Corps, I went, and it helped me get my life on track. And if you graduate, they even help you get an apartment.”

According to Kreayshawn, she learned how to power-wash cement before landing a job at a local IKEA.

“So I learned how to power-wash cement, which was actually kind of scary — the water is so hot, we’d have to wear these big overall outfit…I also know how to paint curbs and fire hydrants — it was actually some pretty interesting stuff.”

Still, Kreay finds all of the struggle is paying off, as she can now lend advice to those in similar situations.

“Everything I went through is just something I can tell other people, so they don’t go through the same thing,” she added. “Like ‘girls — don’t get in a car with a guy who says he’s a photographer! It’s not that smart!’”

Her upcoming show is going to take place at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, California on December 31, 2011.