You will find that those obstacles you will face, don’t have half the strength that you have.
The other day I saw a new ‘Rising Above the Influence’ commercial. It featured YouTubers, just like myself, explaining how they were able to rise above the influence of drugs and alcohol. This is my story.
When I was in high school, despite having an alcoholic step-father, I didn’t want to drink, never mind do drugs. The temptation was always there though. The beer bottles could easily be pulled from the fridge. The Strawberry Stoli and other hard liquor was just a hand swipe away from going into my backpack and off to a party. The thing about me was, that I didn’t party. I didn’t care for it. All I cared about was working, playing in the school band, and hanging out with my friends. But when you get into high school, you start to realized the pressure that comes with it. It all comes down to who you are hanging out with. Are you dating the prettiest girl? What are you wearing? Are you on a sports team? I could go on.
As my friends starting giving in to the pressures of high school and they starting drinking and doing drugs, it was a lot easier for me to give in as well. But I didn’t. I continued to only care about what mattered most to myself. The thing is that once those people, you call your friends, realize that you’re not going down the same path as them, they are done with you. You’re not ‘cool enough’. All of a sudden I felt alone.
I became depressed. I never told anyone. I starting thinking thoughts that would hurt me. Then my dad got sick. I tried to remain strong for him and the rest of my family, but I was trying to stay strong for myself as well. I didn’t have any friends to talk to because they were too busy getting drunk and high. The friends that were there to talk to me, were the friends that would only talk to me cause, “his dad has cancer.” I struggled with self-harming myself. I starting cutting. I didn’t want anyone to know then or in the future, so I did it in spots where know one would notice.
Two years after my dad passed away and I starting self harming, I graduated high school. I moved up north to Concord, NH for college and to start fresh. I was at a new school, in a new city and finally found some faith. Since finding that little bit of faith, my life has been better ever since. I have started a degree in a field that I know I will love. I am working at a great job that could turn into a career. I am working for two small churches doing graphic design, which I love. I have met some amazing people from all around the world.
Do I regret anything I have done in the past? No. Those four years of high school have shaped me into the person I am today.
What kind of things, if any, influenced you while in high school? How were you able to over come them? Did they help shape you into the person you are today?