Personal Narrative: Heroin: The Journey Of A Good Life

Tears streamed down my face as I took one last look at my childhood home. It was a bittersweet moment. I had been longing to move to California for months, but it was not until that moment had I realized how much I would miss Georgia. When I finally stepped into the car, my heart felt like it was shattering into pieces. I would be leaving behind a good life, one full of loving friends and neighbors, in replacement of moving across the country to a place that I had never before seen. Little did I know that I would be in for an adventure of a lifetime.

Instead of being practical and flying across the country to California, my parents made me and my four younger brothers hop in a mini-van and drive across the country. When my parents first proposed the idea, I thought they were insane. However, now looking back on it, I am grateful for

I stepped into the lecture hall where the screening would take place and was met with all kinds of people. Many of them were students, who I assumed had an interest similar to me in the topic, while the rest of movie watchers were either parents or intellectuals. A few minutes after sitting down in my seat, the lights began to dim. The projector that hung from the ceiling began to illuminate the projection screen with scenes of opioid overdoses in Huntington, West Virginia. What seemed like a beautiful day in Huntington with scenes of blue skies and fields was interrupted with calls of overdoses to the Fire Chief, Jan Rader. Every overdose call was met with sirens and sounds of feet running up stairs to meet the victims. Almost every victim looked similar to you and me. They didn't seem like they were addicted when you looked at them. They had a family. They held a job. They had a house. It is estimated that Huntington has five to seven overdoses at day based on a population of around 50,000. Opioids can affect