“When I was a freshman in high school I started using drugs. At first it was a recreational thing, just trying to fit in with the older crowd, but quicker then I could have ever imagined, it spiraled me down a road of self-destruction. I was always a good student, receiving good grades, and always eager to learn. At first I was still attending class, still doing my work, but soon smoking pot on the weekends turned into smoking everyday, and school took a back seat to getting to high. After a little while smoking pot just didn’t seem to be as cool as it was. So I started taking pills trying basically everything under the sun. The days I did attend school, I was so fried, there was no point in even being there. I would have to take uppers just to make it through the day, because the night before I was so stoned I didn’t sleep. That lasted until my junior year when finally my drug use and skipping school could no longer be overlooked. I was suspended from school for failing a drug test. Even after being suspended and having my parents and school both knowing I was using, I still didn’t stop.”
“I was already a full blown drug addict at 16 years old. I went from being an intelligent and responsible student to a manipulative, irresponsible, and untrustworthy drug addict and was just a kid. Since I couldn’t hold a job being an addict, I started selling drugs and turning others into what I had already become. Kids whom were responsible good students, were turning into drug addicts because of my actions. I was arrested when i was 18 for selling drugs and placed on probation. That still didn’t stop me. I was manipulative enough to get through random urine tests and still using drugs while on probation. One drug led to another, and so on and so forth. Now I am a grown man in a drug rehab center, battling a 10-year drug habit that I could have prevented from the start by simply saying no. It is much easier getting into the drug life then it is getting out. I’ve lost countless numbers of friends, countless numbers of opportunities, the respect of my family, and the people who cared about me, but most importantly I lost myself. Now I battle day by day trying to regain the things that I have lost, trying to make up for the horrible things I have done and said, trying to find myself again, and its not easy battle. I only wish I knew where smoking some weed on weekends would lead me 10 years later, because I guarantee that I would have chosen differently.”
© 2009 Narconon Trois-Rivières. All Rights Reserved.
NARCONON is a trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education and is used with its permission.
Nick Hayes is a graduate of the Narconon drug rehab program in 2005. Nick takes much enjoyment in writing, and feels there needs to be more information about drugs and alcohol provided to the people of the world. He believes nobody should have to go through an addiction.