Same Story, Different Ending
My story is no different than anyone else's — like the big book says, "Drinking leads to jails, institutions and death" — my life was no different. I began drinking when I was 16 years old and I was doomed from the start. I blacked out the first time I drank and continued to blackout any other time I drank. When I was drinking there was no social respect for me — it was drink to blackout.
I entered college with high hopes for my future, but drinking had already overtaken my life. After my first few months at college the legal troubles began and would continue to pile on for the years to come. By the time I was 20 I had already been locked up 3 or 4 times because of my inability to quit drinking. Whether I was failing urine analysis or showing up to court drunk, I always found a way to end up back in jail.
My bottom came on January 18th. I had been presented with two doors by my probation officer. Door number one was to spend six months in the Sarpy County jail. Door number 2 was to go get help at a treatment program. Being a plaid pants wearing college kid, I did not like jail so I chose door two which was a six month inpatient program at the Stephen Center.
When I first walked through the door I was terrified. I didn't think I had a problem — Sarpy County just had a problem with me. As I began to sober up during phase one, I began to see all of the things that I had turned my back on. I had dropped out of school. I was on the verge of losing my Job. My family had little to no trust in me.
As I began to get sober, my life began to get better with my family life being at the top of that list. For the first time in years, my mom and I can actually sit down to talk without the conversation ending in an argument. We finally have a relationship which had been long lost. If that wasn’t enough, my brothers are actually looking up to be again. They hadn't done that since I had started to get in trouble.
I haven't gotten back into school yet, but the time will come for that as well. I am back at work at the same job that I nearly lost and I am performing better than I ever had in the past. I am now a service fitness consultant with the possibility of management right around the corner.
By no means has treatment been easy, but by taking that first step and admitting I had a problem, my life has begun to turn around. All of the things that I threw away are slowing coming back to me. I am also learning who I really am and seeing that I can go wherever I want to in life just as long as I stay sober.
