Personal Narrative: Substance Abuse In My Family

Words: 1153
Pages: 5

To begin, I come from a family of initially four, but now has narrowed down to two. My life began with both my parents, as well as a significantly older brother, who is almost fourteen years older than me. As my childhood continued, my family of four started to dwindle, and at six-years old I had began to lose the only two men in my life to substance abuse. My father and brother had both been addicted to very intense drugs, and I saw them very little, as I usually never knew their whereabouts. After my parents had divorced, I saw my father almost never, although recently he has began to grow a relationship with me. My brother on the other hand, dropped out of college and continued his drug habit. The two men I had looked up to let me down. …show more content…
My brother had once been a role model to me, as he was extremely smart and a talented musician. The substance abuse in my family had affected my life very negatively, as it led me to witness the immensely graphic events that come with drug addiction and the repercussions of it. I was forced to grow up at a very young age and take on the responsibilities of an adult. Although my family's drug addiction had altered my life in so many ways, it also brought me a mindset that I will be forever indebted to my family for. They had given me the motivation in life to become something great in life and to break the family cycle of drug abuse. Their mistakes have become my sole motivation to strive for excellence in my academics and in my future …show more content…
I also attend the Boys and Girls Club daily, and I believe their help is one of the most important resources I have to keep myself on track for college, and life after college. At the club I am part of Keystone, a leadership group based on four pillars: academic success, teen outreach, community service, and career development. We have one meeting every Monday to discuss weekly and monthly activities that we will be hosting and/or attending. Just recently I had taken the lead on creating a bookshelf for our Take a Book, Leave a Book event, where we brought in books and then were able to take some other books if we desired. Along with Keystone, the club also has gotten me involved in Girl Talk, a club to promote empowerment amongst women and teach young girls how to handle the many components of being a woman. I am also part of College Bound and Career Bound, programs that teach the specifics on applying for college, looking for majors that interest you, prepping for standardized tests, and preparing for life after