The Dark Road

My mom is a nurse, and my sister also pursues the same profession. There are many perks attached to growing up in this kind of environment. The one that tops the list is that we never had to rush off to the hospital over ever slight headaches or coughs. Throughout my elementary and high school years, my mom always treated my siblings and I in our house. Our home was a mini-clinic. She’s been in the profession for more than 30 years, so she's pretty much experienced. Growing up, my mom often emphasized on the importance of basic first aid knowledge. Her favorite go-to phrases were “accidents can happen anywhere and you should know how to help" and "Don't you want to be able to treat your family when you are on your own?” She equipped us with the basics. To some extent, I know how to treat wounds and which drugs to use when I'm unwell.

Don't quote me wrong, I'm not a mini-doctor. My mom always warned us not to ever use a drug without her consent. Even if you're having just a slight headache, you have to inform her before using the drug. I have different kinds of drugs here with me that serve different purposes, but I never use them or recommend them to anyone without my mom’s permission. Being in the field for more than 30 years, she’s witnessed many people abuse drugs. Looking back, I don’t think
I have had a terrible experience with drugs. Thanks to my mom who's always there to watch over us (and also my body), I have never reacted negatively to a drug. Also, I have never gone to extreme lengths to use hard drugs, so I don’t have any experience with it. However, I have heard many stories of people who got mentally ill, became physically ill, or worse, lost their lives due to hard drugs.

A few years ago, I enrolled for a program (similar to a university setting) outside my state. For the first time ever, I left my parents house to live alone. There, I met people from different backgrounds, states and tribes. Students with different behaviors. The dillegent ones, and the other hand, the ones who came to squander their money on frivolous things. Some students didn't care about the program and didn't bother to take their studies seriously. All they cared about was to drink, smoke and have fun. If you're not careful, you'll get mixed up with them and end up adopting similar habits- taking hard drugs, skipping classes and going for parties. On many occasions, they invited me to join them in their nights out, but I always came up with an excuse. Eventually, they got tired and stopped asking me to join them.

At that time, I had a roommate who wanted to explore the outside world. Just like them, he wanted to have fun. Apparently, he grew up in a very strict home. His parents always caged him, but when he left them, he saw this as an opportunity to break free and enjoy life like a free bird. He saw the program as a golden opportunity to enjoy life. So, he started rolling with the bad ones. He'd always come home late, drunk and stinking with alcohol and weed. I don't know what kind of pills he started taking. But, his family is rich, so he had the resources to purchase whatever it was that made him go gaga. He'd always smoke in the room and when I couldn't bear it any longer, I had to move out to another room. He became really haggard and lean, his lips became as dark as charcoal.

We did the right thing by informing the school authorities who notified his dad. He took a dark toad and in the end, he got expelled and he was taken to a rehabilitation center- far better than losing his life.

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Thanks for reading.