I removed myself from all that was good and lived the life of drugs and alcohol for more years then I wanted to remember. Back then I never really knew what the lifestyle or the drugs and alcohol were doing to me -- slowly killing me!
I didn't know how to get out. It was the only lifestyle I knew: hustling for my next hit, doing my next one til it was gone, then beginning the nightmare all over again! Breaking the law, going to jail, doing my time and hitting the streets to do it all over again!
Last Trip Back to Prison
The catch? The more times I got caught the more time I went away for! When the Judge started talking double digits I began to come to my senses, and figured there had to be a "softer easier way."On December of 2004 I finally took that last hit. The police put the steel bracelets on me for the last time, in my own home. First, I went back to the penitentiary to finish the parole time I so carelessly forgot about, then back to the county for the last and final possession of a control substance case.
A Chance At Treatment
After six months in prison, I convinced the judge I was worth saving. I was given a shot at treatment and embraced it with both arms. My new living environment became my new way of life and their program revolved around A.A.I found myself not one of the one's faking it til I made it, I found myself really listening and thought, "if they can do it, so can I." I began making meetings until meetings made sense. I finally found out after some 30 years of using that there is a better way!
Everyone Is Worth Saving
Call me square, or a drag I don't care this is where it's at, sober! It wasn't easy; the good things in life never are, but I'll tell you one thing, I don't look over my shoulder, nor do I expect the law to knock on my door any time soon!Today I go to college, working on my associate degree in basic addictions counseling, so I can help those that are entrenched in the same misery that plagued me for all those years. I have my own place, a job, and a relationship with my family again. Not to mention a person that loves me and cares for me unconditionally. "Life is what you make it!" I believe everyone is worth saving, and it's never too late for a new start in life.
