You see eye-catching headlines all over the news saying, “Old Disney Channel Child Star Gone Crazy”, or “What is He Thinking?”, and even, “Her Whole Career Ruined in a Flash”. These headlines always get me wondering, where are the stars I grew up watching in their lives now? Where are the ones that haven’t seemed to have done anything so drastic it’s been displayed all over the media, and the ones who have?

Some of my favorite celebrities as a child are still in movies and on TV. But what about the ones who seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth? Well, I researched a few of them and it turns out they’re all still out there; but seem to have lead totally different paths.

Let’s start off with seemingly young and innocent ABC Family star Jodie Sweetin. Sweetin played Stephanie Tanner in the hit show “Full House”. I still love to watch the show, because it always depicts a dysfunctional and hilarious family. But they somehow always seem to get it together by the end of the episode. However, once all grown up and done with the show, Sweetin headed in a downward spiral. When attending co-star Candace Cameron’s wedding in 1996, Sweetin vomited after drinking 2 bottles of wine and had to be carried out of the party. Then once in high school, the actress started taking ecstasy, then graduated to snorting cocaine in college. After a lifetime of trial and error, Sweetin released a memoir of her life, unSweetined, in which she admitted, “Life isn’t like a Full House episode.” But getting her act together after years of being in the dark, the actress is now leading a better life and raises her daughter Zoie with ex-husband Cody Herpin.

Next is the infamous little red head we all fell in love with after watching the remake of “The Parent Trap.” Lindsay Lohan rose to fame at age 11 when she landed the role of both twins, Haley and Annie. She then played the lead role in the infamous film, “Mean Girls,” giving her a major rise in status in the industry. As her rank in Hollywood grew, so did Lohan’s attendance at New York nightclubs. Lohan was arrested after crashing her Mercedes-Benz into a tree in Beverly Hills, then soon after she allegedly engaged in a car chase with the mother of her former personal assistant. In both events, small amounts of cocaine were found in her possession. After all her legal run-ins, Lohan was only charged with two counts each of driving under the influence, and a single count of reckless driving. After attending rehab for a couple months in 2007, Lohan checked herself out, and is trying to stay sober and outside of Los Angeles, the place she thinks is the source of her troubles.

Then we have Macaulay Culkin, the child star of comedies “Home Alone” and its sequel, “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York”. Culkin starred in numerous films and was even featured Michael Jackson’s music video for “Black or White”. At the height of his fame, he was regarded as the most successful child actor since Shirley Temple. In 2007, years after retiring from the acting scene, Culkin was arrested in Oklahoma City for the possession of 17.3 grams of marijuana and two controlled substances, 16.5 milligrams of Alprazolam and 32 milligrams of Clonazepam. He was briefly jailed, then released on a $4,000 bail. After being arraigned in court for misdemeanor drug offenses, he pleaded guilty. He received three one-year suspended prison terms and was ordered to pay $540 in fees. Recently, Culkin has been said to smoke a hefty amount of cigarettes each day, while he lives in New York deejaying in clubs all over the state.

Lastly is Disney star and artist Hilary Duff, one actress who still seems to have it all together. Duff hit it big when she starred in her first movie as Wendy in “Casper the Friendly Ghost.” After this came her hit TV show, “Lizzie McGuire.” The show became Disney’s #1 show in 2001. It became so popular that in 2003, “The Lizzie McGuire Movie” hit theaters. Duff was involved with multiple movies after this one, and even released her own album, Metamorphosis. But where is the star now? In 2010 Duff married Canadian NHL player Mike Comrie, though the two have been separated since January 2014. The couple had son Luca Cruz in March 2012, and both co-parent the boy even though separated.

Of course, there are many more celebrities from my childhood that have lived troubled lives, and some who are still successful and have had to grow through little difficulties. But it scares me that one day, you can have your life all together, but the next your world can come crumbling down, just like it’s happened for a few of these actors. However those who have kept it together give me hope that if you stay on the right track, you’ll make it out just fine. Which is exactly what I plan on doing.