Personal Narrative: My Journey With Addiction And Recovery

When I look back on the months post-surgery, it really makes me realize how much the event influenced me. Rehabbing was one of the most intensive experiences of my life thus far. It was a lot of work doing the exercises every day, but when I finally was cleared

Second semester of my sophomore year is when my life got flipped around. It was the middle of the season for basketball when I was struck by a knee on my shoulder at practice. I didn 't think much about it at the time, all I knew was that I was in pain. I was a starting post on JV as well as a full time varsity player. The last thing I needed was to get injured when my basketball career was just getting started.That day started a winding road that has not found an end even to this day. Doctors appointments after doctors appointments, they just couldn 't find what was wrong with my shoulder. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Injection after injection, just trying to find a cure for my pain, but nothing seemed to be

I don’t recall having a hard time learning how to read. It was one of those things that just came easily to me for some reason. For the most part I enjoyed reading as well. The only time I didn’t enjoy reading was when I didn’t understand a certain word or a certain phrase. One of the strongest memories I have from learning to read was when I was unable to pronounce the word “the”.

Addiction is a powerful thing to encounter, cope or live with. An addiction is worse when it is experienced with a loved one. This illness has many negative affects regardless to the extent of the addiction. It has caused family and marital separations that are not easily overcome without a determined mindset.

I’m laying on the ground my ears are ringing as I slowly get to my feet I notice a sharp pain in my left arm.  This whole idea was put in my head about a month before.

In my brief life, I have overcome a lot of adversity. My mom fled Mexico with her three young children to escape domestic violence. When we came to this country we had only a few personal belongings and the promise of a better future. We came to this country and lived in a small trailer with no toilet other than a bucket, and no shower except for the one that was lent to us from the kindness of a stranger, our new neighbor. As a single parent, my mother had to work day and night to support us. While she was working long hours cleaning people’s houses, as the oldest of three children, I had to quickly learn how to cook, how to clean and take care of my siblings. From getting the kids ready for school, helping them with their homework, and

The transition from eighth grade to ninth grade is one of the most difficult but unforgettable things a student must do in his adolescence. For me, it was filled with new opportunities of taking Ap classes and joining clubs. One of these cubs was Youth and Government (Y&G). For as long as I can remember my brother, Riad, has boasted about how amazing Y&G is and how it has changed his life. My brother is three years older then me, so as a freshman he was a senior in Y&G. I was so excited for the year due to the fact that i got to experience Y&G with my brother. Little did I know that senior year changed my brother.

High school has impacted my life in so many ways. High School taught me so many things, from personal relationships to creating a relationship with my education. As a freshman, I made a huge amount of mistakes and I regret doing foolish things, but I’ve realized, I was only maturing into the young adult I am today. Freshman year, I was out of focus and I was only trying to find myself. I would also prioritize other things and ignore my parent’s advice, where they would tell me to focus in school and give it my full attention. It took me about 2 years to find myself and know where I belonged. My behavior has improved, I know how and when to approach people. I’m also more involved with my education and I make goals for myself. I’m done having

Albert Einstein once said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Although I was not born with the best bike, I have learned to pedal through all the hardships—and that has made all the differences.

Recently I have heard the Cherokee ledged of two wolves. In this story a grandfather tells his grandson that every one has two wolves inside them that are always in constant battle with each other. One from the light which represents hope, self esteem, courage and faith. The other is from the dark side which represents depression, fear, anger and guilt. The grandson asks the grandfather which one wins and the grandfather simply replies it is the one you feed. This past fall I finished my internship for my bachelor of education. It was an awful experience and it is through the lens of this story that I was able to start to come to terms with how I fell towards it. It helped me realize that by continuing to allow the negative memories of past to rule my life I was essentially killing all of the good and positive things about myself while feeding the monster that threated to pull me into a downward spin.

Andrew, my older brother, in middle of the road he was tired to keep ride the ox for 1 month. He asked me to replace him, so he can get some sleep. But then I do not have any experience of riding ox, that cause our wagon go wrong trail. The sky was dark like almost rain, I was panic. Everyone was in poor health because digest least food. It will take the several days to get back the trail, I scare that we can’t get back in time.

Being the child of an addict is terrifying! You never know how and why it started. And you always wonder if it was you the one that caused it. After you find out you always wonder if he is going to go back to his old habits. The only thing you think about is him and his health. Seven years of addiction can change you but most people do not see a difference. I did not see a difference in my dad during those seven years until i found out he was addicted to ice (meth). Once i was told he was addicted i started noticing all the changes in his body. All the mood swings and the multiple times he would go out during the day. I was a freshmen in high school when my mom decided to put him in a rehab home. I was on my way to school with my mom and my sister and she was

No matter how prepared an individual may be or expecting of a death, to lose a family member to death can be a traumatic experience. The grief process is a difficult process. However most understand that death is a natural and expected life event (McBride, and Simms, 2001). With that said it usually does not make the death of family member any easier to absorb emotionally. Although I have familiarly and awareness because of the deaths of my Father and Sister, it does not mean that I am comfortable with death, or have all the right words to say to comfort a person in the grieving process. I think a person can listen, extend a helping hand, pray, or a should offer a to cry on, but for the most part, there are

I constantly stay ‘plugged into’ my recovery community in a variety of different ways. I know that it plays a huge part in my personal recovery in helping me stay clean and sober. A few of the ways I am able to stay connected are through hospitals and institutions, as well as picking up service commitments at my home group. I am a big advocate of H&I’s because they were a key component of my recovery when I was in treatment. I was tremendously inspired when I heard someone who was doing well in the outside world share their experience, strength, and hope. I believe that coming into a treatment center to share the message gives the clients that are in treatment a great amount of hope and shows them that they are very capable of staying clean

It was a cold November morning in the valley of Cowan, when I fired my first shot. It was a smooth and clean feeling after I pulled the trigger. I than saw the deer hunker as the slug hit its side, and it began to run away from us. Dad, knowing I had made a good shot, still decided to jump out of the blind window to end the animals suffering. Unfortunately, when his foot caught, it was all over from then. Once, I was inside the blind and the next I was in the cold crisp air. I then saw Dad on the ground cursing himself for jumping through the window.