HONORABLE MENTION #2

NAME: Cameron

Recovery and Redemption

Addiction tears families apart. Plain and simple. When a loved one becomes caught up in drugs, their lives can and will be quickly ripped out of their own hands and into an uncontrollable downward spiral. Addiction brings about intense feelings of shame and desperation, but these feelings never seem to be powerful enough to bring the addiction to a halt. As addiction inevitably brings about the destruction of families, health, careers, and relationships, the world of the addict collapses into ruins. Eventually, nothing remains but the drug and its consumer. No end in sight. No voice is heard. No one gets through to the addicted.

My uncles have both had their battles with addiction. It has affected both of them in wildly different ways, none of which are positive. They were both promising kids. They were determined athletes, intelligent students, and devoted Christians; one would not look at them and see the poster children for future addiction. All it took was one time trying drugs in high school and they were hooked beyond return. My mom had to live wondering if her brothers were safe. Wondering if they were going to come home. Wondering if they were still alive. My mom can still remember the police searching her house for drugs that were supposedly in her brother's possession. Her family was torn. They were plagued with worry, but hesitant to take action. My grandparents never confronted their boys about their addictions. To this day, my mom experiences internal conflict towards how her parents handled raising them. My family considers ourselves blessed to say that both of my uncles are alive and present in our lives.

Both of my uncles found themselves to be in similar situations on the path of addiction. They worked at the same manufacturing company, desperately attempting to function within a common workplace while on drugs. Eventually, they could no longer keep up the act, and were stopped at a crucial fork in the road. The brothers went two strikingly different directions, one

bringing about a deeper descent into personal destruction, and one bringing about a radical recovery.

My younger uncle was the manager of the site they worked at. He was eventually fired for situations deriving from his addiction. Ever since, he has never held a steady job. My cousin has to go to high school on an athletic scholarship because his parents could not afford to send him to the private school that he wanted to attend. Although my uncle is fully capable, he steers clear of a new job mostly because he could not pass a drug test to meet job qualifications. We call him any time we need help with home maintenance, though, because there is truly nothing that he can not do when it comes to handiwork. However, his talent is being wasted daily because of the addictive tendencies that have overtaken his life.

My older uncle was eventually able to quit drugs and take his life back. He understands how slippery of a slope he was on, and will take the necessary precautions to avoid a relapse. He currently takes a prescribed medicine so that he never returns to the life of addiction he once knew. He still maintains his job at the same manufacturing company and has found a solid

work-ethic and self-made success. He earns a bountiful salary and lives without the stress of financial burden. My uncle has even reached the point where he can afford to spend money on himself and his own desires. Just last week, he pulled into my grandparent’s driveway in a brand new, shining Mercedes. Nothing makes our family prouder than witnessing his journey towards recovery and repair.

Neither of my uncles have the parental bond with their children that they should. They have both had children, but never spent time investing in potential marriages with their significant others at the time. Additionally, when it came down to finding significant others, they chose to date women who also struggled with addiction. My older uncle has a daughter who was

essentially raised by my grandparents. Although he is healthy and addiction-free now, his past choices came with the consequence of missing out on watching his little girl grow up.

Meanwhile, my younger uncle was dating my aunt for about fifteen years before they decided to separate. His son took on the responsibility of raising himself, and has to deal with the aftermath of a broken family. Both of my cousins wish their voices had been heard before their parents allowed their lives to spiral out of control. Addiction has ruined their chance to have healthy relationships with their parents, a relationship that every child deserves.

My uncle’s addictions have affected my immediate family as well. My mom is terrified at the prospect that one of her children might one day fall to the same temptations and influences that my uncles fell to. My younger brother reminds my mom of her younger brother, and of the innocence and simplicity that his life used to have. They both look similar, share the same athletic tendencies, and are intelligent beyond measure. One of my mom’s worst fears is that one day she will look on a local news channel and see the face of one of her brothers, or that she will receive a call informing her of something terrible happening to them. She regrets not being able to do more in steering them away from the path of addiction, and has vowed to protect her own children from walking down that same path.