I actually did find it very difficult to hang out with her [her friend] after a while because I had never used drugs before – and that’s something I really believe in – that I think that drugs and alcohol have a huge impact on your academic life and your social life and when you begin to use them you lose your priorities in your academic career. She started hanging out with people I wasn’t interested in hanging out with, but I was her friend and we had a great connection, and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t let drugs and alcohol get in the way of our friendship.
What drugs did to their relationship…
I told my friend that I was someone that didn’t use drugs and being friends with her was very difficult because she was constantly trying to find a way fix herself, or to fix her life, or catch up on exams, and she was sort of searching for a fake happiness with the drugs and the alcohol because she felt like at the time it was such a great thing. But when she woke up the next morning, or when she went to school, she was, you know, just in this really negative place and it became difficult for me to deal with that, and I said I wanted to help her.
How her perseverance paid off…
And so she said that wasn’t really fair because if I wanted to be her friend I should just be her friend and accept her for who she was. But I said at the same time I didn’t believe in that, and she should respect me and she owed it to herself – and to me – to give it a try. I told her if she gave it a try [staying clean and sober] and she didn’t like it and she chose to keep using the drugs and the alcohol that would be her decision. But I knew that when she gave it a try and stopped using the substances it would be a positive effect on her life.
How she got her friend to open up…
Well initially she tried to hide the fact that she was going out clubbing and, you know, drinking and using different sorts of drugs because she knew that I didn’t necessarily approve of those things in the friendship. However, after a while she just started telling me stories about the things that would happen to her over the weekend – sort of like girl talk – and it would come out and then I started pushing the issue a little bit and she was honest with me, which was something I appreciated because it allowed me to help her.
How she stays positive and avoids using drugs…
I think that me personally, the way that I see it, drug- and alcohol-free was just being really involved with different activities and being involved with positive people who help you move your life forward by getting opportunities. By being in clubs you sort of keep yourself busy and you meet people who [you] have similar interests with – then you don’t really need to use the drugs and alcohol. You have people to hang out with on weekends that don’t use drugs and alcohol. There’s also prevention groups at every high school that you can get involved with where you make great friends and, through those programs, there’s a lot of leadership opportunities and it really just helps you out to stay positive and to really just excel in life altogether.
source – http://www.drugstory.org
Green Community Said,
September 22, 2008 @ 9:19 am
It is important to leave drugs alone and stay sober. It is also important to try and help friends get off of illegal substances.
ashley Said,
September 22, 2008 @ 1:18 pm
i never done any drug in my life time. and i plan on not doing it still. im going to stay clean.
Jasmin Said,
September 23, 2008 @ 1:56 pm
Hey that story was great. I know where u r coming from.
Kellie Pemberton Said,
September 24, 2008 @ 9:32 am
Very good story, I like the way it was written. It shows both sides of the story. I think this website and opportunity are a GREAT way for our children to stay involved with the DARE program that they all participated in Elementary school. This is not a required program so they have to really want to not do these things to become involved. Go CPS.
Parent
Kellie Pemberton
Ashley Said,
September 24, 2008 @ 1:47 pm
I don’t do drugs or alcohol for one reason. That is simply b/c I want to stay very clean. Also I want to let da kids know that stay away from them nasty killin drugs. Praise the lord that some kids have some sense into not doin them horrifyin drugs and alcohol. Thank you so much.
Billy Dean Said,
October 6, 2008 @ 9:07 am
As we travel the wayward path of life, it is inevitable that we come upon a rough patch. It is how we deal with these stretches that determines how we will fare further on down the path. Now I’m no loud-mouthed schnook, but I say drugs are bad.
alcohol abuse help Said,
October 18, 2008 @ 8:01 pm
alcohol abuse help…
There are others that think just like you. Good job….
Mc.Lovins Said,
October 21, 2008 @ 2:14 pm
This is what I think about this…. Well first of all congrats to you young people for not doing those nasty drugs. Good job to you Ashley. Well my family has done so many kinds of drugs that they gave up their rights to see me to the courts around 2000. Since then I have done some drugs because I thaught that doing drugs would help me with my problems. But I was so so very wrong. When I did do these drugs it tore me from my foster family that I loved to death. It tore me from my grandparents and they wouldn’t let my see my little nephew. It killed me because I had never seen my little nephew before and I hated that I had ever done those drugs. I missed my family so much that I had a lot of drugs that I was taking. I finally had the chance to meet my nephew, but at this time he was about 3 1/2 years old and I hated myself so much because I hadn’t seen him when he was a baby. It killed me inside so I took an oath that I will never do any drugs for the rest of my life. I was so lucky that I really didn’t get into the drugs or really hooked onto the drugs. So after I made that oath I had gotten hooked on cigerettes. So about 3 1/2 mounths ago I gotten a hold of my mother and she said that I can’t call her any more because she was engaged and she told me that my brother had gotten married. So I told her that if I can’t be in her life, when I get married she can’t be apart of my life or my familys life.
So if your reading this you are having doubts about this stuff. Well I thick that you should stop doing drugs or don’t do them at all. Thank you for reading this.
Jacopa Said,
January 26, 2009 @ 5:01 pm
Love the advice. Thank you.