Narrative Essay On Substance Abuse

Finding myself and a place in this world has been a struggle my entire life. During middle school I got into substance abuse and fell victim to addiction. It all caught up to me when high school started, and I began to miss class.I lost track of what was important in my life. My parents saw this and did everything they could, but I still was not doing what I needed to improve. During the beginning of my junior year, my parents sent me to Summit Achievement wilderness therapy in Stow, Maine.
It had a six level system you had to make your way through in order to graduate the program. When they told me this, I thought that meant I only had to be there for about 6 weeks. At first the program was physically tolling due to the backpacking and long hikes. Soon the mental part of it struck me, and it was very hard. I missed my family, friends, home town, and my bed. Never before had I struggled with homesickness, but I was so homesick I almost felt as if I had been disabled. I didn’t want to get up, I didn’t want to eat, I didn’t want to do anything. I had to overcome this feeling because the longer I didn’t do anything, the longer I would be at the program. The consequences for my actions were almost

During this visit, my mom, dad and therapist sat me down and gave me some of the hardest news I’ve ever had to receive. They felt that coming home was not smart because they didn’t want me to return to old habits. The next program I was being enrolled at was a six to twelve month program. I was only at wilderness therapy for nine weeks, so six to twelve months seemed like an eternity. This was a big strike to my confidence and motivation, and I figured why even try to leave this place if I am just going to another treatment center afterwards. My therapist told me I could get my phone and talk to my friends which made me very excited and help me transition next program. Four weeks later, I graduated wilderness