- Alcohol
- Drugs
My name is Seth. This is my story.
I had a pretty good childhood until about the age of nine. My best friend Nico was the most wonderful person I have ever met. He was kind and had something good to say about everyone. We were best friends since the age of four or five, and we did everything together. We smoked our first cigarette together and even looked at a Playboy for the first time together, although, man, his granny whooped us for that.
We were hanging out one day at his house trading Pokémon cards. I gave him some money to walk across the tracks to the store to get us some more. That would be the last time I would ever see my buddy again. He begged his mom to let him go. I knew my dad would not let me, so I didn’t dare ask. On his way back from the store he got hit by a train. They said he didn’t even see it coming. It killed him instantly. I blamed myself. I was alone; I didn’t have my best friend anymore. I didn’t understand that he was gone. Who was I going to hang out with? I did not know what to do. I was lost, and I started getting in trouble. I was smoking weed and drinking beer by age 10 or 11 because, “It was cool.”
By age 12 I had graduated to popping Xanax. I would steal them from my mom and take way too many. I started not knowing who or where I was anymore. I didn’t care about anyone or anything other than getting high and getting with the girls. By age 14 I was so bad that I overdosed on Xanax. I forgot how many I took, but I was hospitalized for about 10 days, because they thought I was trying to kill myself. I was trying to get high. I was an empty shell. I didn’t have a care in the world, or at least that’s what I told myself. I didn’t want to stop, and I didn’t care who I hurt. I kept doing drugs and got sent to an alternative school because of my consumption of OxyContin. I was high every day in class. I’m surprised I finally graduated from high school. My dad finally kicked me out after graduation, so I went to live with my mom, but that was the worst mistake I ever made.
I met a girl at a party and shortly after, I moved there. She shot up heroin. Pills were not doing it for me anymore, so I tried some. I went straight to the needle. I thought it was the best thing in the world. I started stealing and getting high on heroin almost every day. Eventually I got caught and was charged with two accounts of burglary, two possessions of a controlled substance, one possession of a narcotic and criminal trespassing. What a winner, huh? I bonded out and did my six months of incarceration later. I received ten years of probation, but I still did not learn anything from the experience. Drugs had a hold on my life, and I would definitely be dead or still behind bars, if it wasn’t for my addiction treatment program.
I started violating probation with non-reports, because I was dirty and didn’t want to quit. I would tell myself that I would quit two weeks before I went, but then it would be a week and then it would be a day before I reported. I would just say, “Screw it,” and not go at all. I was messed up. I finally went and tested positive for methadone and THC. I was locked up for the 20th time. It was time for a change. They put me in the hold, and I had my spiritual awakening about the fourth day there. I was ready to change my life. I knew I needed help, so I finally asked for it. After two months of waiting, the folks from a residential treatment house for men came to get me. I was so scared about the change of lifestyle. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. The Program Director really cares about the men in this program. He teaches you responsibility and to be held accountable for your actions. This is changing my life. I feel like a different person. I’m living on life’s terms now. This is making me a better person and will make me a better father and husband in the long run. I feel like this is really worth my time, and I am going to put one hundred and ten percent effort into this. Thank you for giving me a second chance at life. I’m ready to grab the bull by the horns and live a happy life. Let’s do this thing!