My father has been addicted to drugs since he was 14 (and continues to be), and so when I was around the same age, he introduced me to them. I smoked my first joint with my father.

Later on my mother found out that my father was abusing cocaine and pot, among other things. She says that she has never forgiven herself for exposing my brother and I to his addictions. She thought that he stopped all that when they got married. She was wrong. It was NOT her fault. From there things got worse.

In my 21 years I’ve been a lot of places including experimenting with drugs, blacking out, getting in trouble with the law and hanging out with the wrong people. After more than a few hard years, I was sent to an alternative school. The principal at my high school decided it would be the best place for me. She saved my life. Instead of finding the wrong people to hang out with at my new school (which there were plenty of)…I found myself. I decided I wanted to go somewhere, and not end up anywhere close to where my father ended.

My teachers set me up for success and encouraged me every step of the way. Around the same time one of my brothers best friends was killed in a car accident, by my brothers other friend who was driving drunk. It was a very emotional and overwhelming time for my brother and many of his friends and their families. I decided then that I would never put myself in a situation like that. And I have never drank and gotten behind the wheel, nor have I ever let a friend do it, no matter what they thought of me at the time.

4 years later I have graduated with my Registered Practical Nurse Diploma and am practicing as a Nurse. When I look back at those years of my life that were so hard, all I can do is thank the many people around me who supported me and led me in the right direction. I choose now to not use drugs.

I have many friends who do, but I have an important job that I won’t jeopardize for anything. The thing I’ve realized is that life is about balance. I go out with my friends and drink. I go out and have a great time. But I always make sure to have a plan to make it home to MY bed and make sure I trust the people around me. My roommate takes a different approach to her life. Which is not wrong, just different.

She is my age and she has decided that all she wants to do is have fun. She goes out and gets wasted with whoever is at the bar that night and more times than not, ends up waking up next to them the next morning. Most of the time she’s scared, embarrassed and ashamed. I’ve taken her to clinic’s numerous times to get tested. She has also had to take the morning after pill, which is very hard on the body. It’s hard to see her having to deal with the choices she makes. It’s not a pretty thing.

It doesn’t make her any more cool or leave her with any more friends. No matter where you are right now, the important thing to is that there are people out there who can help. There are people who want to be on YOUR team. For me, it was my mother and my teachers. For someone else it may be someone like me, a Nurse, or a guidance counselor or a friend. There are always alternatives, always a way to get out.

Being strong and knowing yourself can carry you through more than you could ever imagine possible. You just need to put some faith in yourself. You CAN succeed, you CAN overcome and you CAN make things right. No matter how far you’ve gone down the wrong road, turn back.