i've never been afraid to share my past on the GS and reach out and help people
i truly believe everything happens for a reason and God puts certain people in your life . It's up to you to ask for help and take advantage of it
here's a short story testimony of where I've been and where I am today ... thanks to GOD
I grew up in Metairie (New Orleans) and graduated HS in 1986. I was a State champion wrestler and 2nd team All State in football. I had numerous scholarship offers from smaller colleges to either play FB or wrestle. I honestly knew I couldn't pass a drug screen and turned down the offers so I could go to LSU and party like Cheech and Chong.
I had incredible talent on the field and especially on the mat as I was 28-3 and won 5 wrestling tournements my Sr. year. All this while smoking dope 4-5 times a week and never giving 100% during practice. Regarding academics, I never applied myself and getting by with C's and a few B's while studying the night before a test was OK with me.
My priorities when I was 16-19 yrs old were getting high, listening to OZZY , and doing as little as possible to just get by. In the Fall of 1986 I went to LSU and lived off campus with a family friend. He was a bartender and also smoked the hooch as I was living in high cotton. Partying became priority #1 as I would show up for a few classes, hang out in the last few rows, and cram the night before and show up for test day.
I only made it 3 semesters at LSU b/c all I wanted to do was get high. I would buy and sell weed so I could get my own supply for free. Little did I realize was my addiction to drugs and alcohol made me very depressed as I rarely left my apartment. We would have "Intelli-Vision" tournaments and stay up all night like vampires (IntelliVison video games were better than Atari , yet pre-Sega).
In the Fall of 1987, I was miserable and realized I would never graduate college or amount to anything based on my depressing lifestyle of drinking and drugs. At 9am on a Saturday morning, I was buying beer and rolling papers at a Circle K convenience store. It just so happened that I saw my best friend Paul from HS that I hadn't seen in almost a year. Paul went to Auburn and pulled a 0.0 gpa. The court had ordered him to mandatory treatment due to his addiction and arrests.
Paul was staying at a 1/2 way house in Baton Rouge and was using the pay phone to get directions to an AA meeting when i bumped into him. (GOD put him there for a reason !! ) He lost weight, got a haircut, looked 100x's better, and I could tell he was a changed person. I asked him what was happening in his life and he told me about his treatment. A light went off in my head that I wanted what Paul had . I was sick and tired of being miserable and I needed help big time.
I got honest with my parents and told them in December 1987 that I wanted to go to treatment. I was 19 yrs old and on 12-27-87... I checked myself into the Hospital in N.O. for substance abuse. After 30 days of primary treatment and being sober , I had graduated the program. The counselors recommended a 1/2 way house in Lafayette where I could continue with the secondary phase of my treatment.
I moved to LAF in Feb 1988 and lived in the 1/2 way for 6 months . I learned all about responsibility , balancing a check book, paying bills on time, and how to have fun and interact with people without drinking or getting high.
I put myself thru college by working as many as 4 jobs and taking 21 hrs so I could graduate. I earned my undergraduate and even have a Masters degree. I've had to choose new friends and learn a whole new lifestyle. Many of my old friends from N.O. and B.R. are still doing the same thing today as they were in 1987. Several have died from overdoses as I've been a pall bearer way too many times
.
Since being sober, I've worked as a counselor in various settings : gambling, marriage and family, substance abuse , etc.... I take my sobriety one day at a time even after 23 yrs . I pray the Serenity Prayer many times per day as GOD has never let me down.
I have friends today that drink as I don't judge them b/c that's their choice. I know what happened to me and how it made me feel when I abused drugs.
I do know that today , I cannot have even 1 drink b/c of my addictive personality and it just ain't worth it . I have a beautiful wife and 2 children who lean on me for strength and understand that daddy is an alcoholic and drug addict who chooses a different lifestyle today.
Sorry for rambling as I hope sharing my story on the GS didn't offend anyone. If so I apologize. If my message reached 1 person who can relate to my story, then I've succeeded.
Thanks for listening and I'm always here if someone wants to talk or needs a little support. It's all about helping people b/c I too have been there and God put someone in my life when I needed it most .
Blake
i truly believe everything happens for a reason and God puts certain people in your life . It's up to you to ask for help and take advantage of it
here's a short story testimony of where I've been and where I am today ... thanks to GOD
I grew up in Metairie (New Orleans) and graduated HS in 1986. I was a State champion wrestler and 2nd team All State in football. I had numerous scholarship offers from smaller colleges to either play FB or wrestle. I honestly knew I couldn't pass a drug screen and turned down the offers so I could go to LSU and party like Cheech and Chong.
I had incredible talent on the field and especially on the mat as I was 28-3 and won 5 wrestling tournements my Sr. year. All this while smoking dope 4-5 times a week and never giving 100% during practice. Regarding academics, I never applied myself and getting by with C's and a few B's while studying the night before a test was OK with me.
My priorities when I was 16-19 yrs old were getting high, listening to OZZY , and doing as little as possible to just get by. In the Fall of 1986 I went to LSU and lived off campus with a family friend. He was a bartender and also smoked the hooch as I was living in high cotton. Partying became priority #1 as I would show up for a few classes, hang out in the last few rows, and cram the night before and show up for test day.
I only made it 3 semesters at LSU b/c all I wanted to do was get high. I would buy and sell weed so I could get my own supply for free. Little did I realize was my addiction to drugs and alcohol made me very depressed as I rarely left my apartment. We would have "Intelli-Vision" tournaments and stay up all night like vampires (IntelliVison video games were better than Atari , yet pre-Sega).
In the Fall of 1987, I was miserable and realized I would never graduate college or amount to anything based on my depressing lifestyle of drinking and drugs. At 9am on a Saturday morning, I was buying beer and rolling papers at a Circle K convenience store. It just so happened that I saw my best friend Paul from HS that I hadn't seen in almost a year. Paul went to Auburn and pulled a 0.0 gpa. The court had ordered him to mandatory treatment due to his addiction and arrests.
Paul was staying at a 1/2 way house in Baton Rouge and was using the pay phone to get directions to an AA meeting when i bumped into him. (GOD put him there for a reason !! ) He lost weight, got a haircut, looked 100x's better, and I could tell he was a changed person. I asked him what was happening in his life and he told me about his treatment. A light went off in my head that I wanted what Paul had . I was sick and tired of being miserable and I needed help big time.
I got honest with my parents and told them in December 1987 that I wanted to go to treatment. I was 19 yrs old and on 12-27-87... I checked myself into the Hospital in N.O. for substance abuse. After 30 days of primary treatment and being sober , I had graduated the program. The counselors recommended a 1/2 way house in Lafayette where I could continue with the secondary phase of my treatment.
I moved to LAF in Feb 1988 and lived in the 1/2 way for 6 months . I learned all about responsibility , balancing a check book, paying bills on time, and how to have fun and interact with people without drinking or getting high.
I put myself thru college by working as many as 4 jobs and taking 21 hrs so I could graduate. I earned my undergraduate and even have a Masters degree. I've had to choose new friends and learn a whole new lifestyle. Many of my old friends from N.O. and B.R. are still doing the same thing today as they were in 1987. Several have died from overdoses as I've been a pall bearer way too many times
. Since being sober, I've worked as a counselor in various settings : gambling, marriage and family, substance abuse , etc.... I take my sobriety one day at a time even after 23 yrs . I pray the Serenity Prayer many times per day as GOD has never let me down.
I have friends today that drink as I don't judge them b/c that's their choice. I know what happened to me and how it made me feel when I abused drugs.
I do know that today , I cannot have even 1 drink b/c of my addictive personality and it just ain't worth it . I have a beautiful wife and 2 children who lean on me for strength and understand that daddy is an alcoholic and drug addict who chooses a different lifestyle today.
Sorry for rambling as I hope sharing my story on the GS didn't offend anyone. If so I apologize. If my message reached 1 person who can relate to my story, then I've succeeded.
Thanks for listening and I'm always here if someone wants to talk or needs a little support. It's all about helping people b/c I too have been there and God put someone in my life when I needed it most .
Blake
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