The Wrong Way

Let me tell you a story.

Once, there was this kid who, got into an accident and couldn’t come to school….

Once more with less plagiarism.  Once there was a boy.  He became increasingly interested in drugs, but he knew there were dangers to many drugs, the guy in the uniform said so right after passing out these shirts that said D.A.R.E.  As he began to discover people who did some drugs but not others, and whose lives were not seemingly ruined, he decided it would be okay to try SOME drugs as long as he did a lot of research before hand.  So starts the bad road that leads the wrong way.

After many years of constant drug abuse this boy, now a man, hit what the experts like to call “rock bottom”.  Rock bottom is different for everyone, for this man, it was in the form of apathy.  He no longer cared if he lived, or if he died.  He knew if he went on living, he would just continue to hurt those he cared about and be a burden besides.  This was a bit of a revelation, because for as long as he could remember, he was scared to die.  He had not lived a good life and the way he understood it, those who did not live a good life did not have a good death.   This revelation was scary, it was a novel idea that an overdose death might be the best thing for all those affected.

Not long after, he ended up in a clinic for people with drug problems, more specifically, opiate addictions. This clinic was a feeble attempt to be able to attend class without getting sick. It was important to go to class, especially since he just blew school money to get high. Yep, only a drug addict would try to attend a 4 year college while still being a drug addict and think he could pull it off.  He went to the clinic off and on, still scoring heroin off the street when possible. It was an exhausting life and it had been going on for so long.

One day, this man sat in the city where all his connections were. He had $20 to spend, and that money was only good for one thing in those days; however, as he sat there pondering his life, he realized that he didn’t need to go after that score. There was a perfectly good clinic more than willing to give him drugs every day, probably for the rest of his life if he so desired, and all he had to do was dedicate his life to a single drug. Fatefully, thats what he did; he decided he could test it out and not do illicit drugs that day.

One year later, it’s time to go on vacation. But wait, I need my daily fix. I really want to go on this trip though, it’s not that far away. As luck would have it, he had been a good boy for the past year and had a little credibility, so he was able to take a few doses with him for the weekend. An important lesson was learned here though, if you are tethered to something in such a way that you can’t do without it, your travel area is greatly diminished. The further you travel, the higher your chances of having something go wrong and getting very sick. The solution? It’s time to find a way out.  They call it a taper.

Another year or so later. The boy needs a career, retail sucks. He doesn’t have enough Pell grant left to finish a 4 year degree, but he has a few credits from core classes he might be able to use to get a 2 year degree. So thats what he did, he went to a technical college during a pandemic. This is important because the tests were much easier to manage in a remote class.

Graduation time was getting close, both from the clinic and the technical college. What could he do to maintain the sobriety he had fought so hard for? There was really only one solution for him. He had always believed in a benevolent diety. Well, a diety at least, he didn’t really understand the benevolent part until later. He knew that this God had helped many like him, although he wasn’t entirely sure how. Whats the worst that could happen? So he went to church. It was the church of his childhood, the one where he never felt good enough, or felt like he could possibly add up. He went nonetheless. As his faith and understanding grew, his soul brightened and his confidence increased.

In December, he graduated from school; in April, he graduated from the clinic. One week later, he went to a special house of God where he experienced friendship, excitement, apprehension, relief, and many more emotions too complex to put into words.

More than a year later, he has an incredible job, working with wonderful people, and his life is full.

You might say the future’s so bright, he’s gotta wear shades.