The disease of addiction runs in my family. Both my mother and my father had addictive personalities. My father struggled with alcoholism and my mother was an impulsive shopper.
Growing up with addictive parents, I swore I would never be like them. Seeing firsthand what addiction does to a family, I knew I didn’t want to deal with the same struggles they did. I already had the character traits of an addict. It started with collecting an excessive amount of Pokémon cards and shortly after, I become addicted to playing video games, sports.
As I got older, I felt I could never find my place. I had trouble finding my niche in society because I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted to be. It is said a lot in the rooms of AA that we find our place when we picked up the substance. I can relate to that statement. When I put the first substance in my body, I finally felt I was able to talk to people and be social. What I didn’t know at the time was that I was always an outgoing, social person. I just didn’t have faith in myself.
Coming up on one year in recovery, I am learning so much about myself. I have learned that I have a genuine passion for helping people. I am grateful that I can now be a part of a healthy group of people and genuinely feel like I fit in. Today, I can help others who have struggled just like I did. It’s all possible because I chose a path of recovery. I now work with a team of people who help me grow by showing me how helping myself can help others in return.