I will never forget that night: Sept26, 1996. I
pulled into my driveway after a busy day of
school and baby-sitting. I still had to write a big
chemistry paper. There were many things on my
mind. At that time I was having many problems
with family and friends, and therefore I was in a
very bad mood. And I was unhappy with myself
and the way that my life was going. A major
problem I was struggling with was drug use. For
two years I had been smoking and hated it, but
could not stop. I did not let drugs affect my
grades or personality. But it made a difference in
how I thought about myself. I had always been a
good kid and still tried to be, but drugs brought
me down. I frequently thought about how drugs
were not something I wanted as part of my life. I
wanted to change but I was scared to make the
transition I.
I looked up at the sky as I gut out of my car.
The moon was covered by the earth’s shadow in
a lunar eclipse. The outer circle of the moon was
exposed and gave off tiny beams of light,
gleaming in all directions. The sky was a dark,
ink-black color dotted with millions of stars. I
stood outside in the cool fall air for what seemed
a long time of heave and happiness. The joy
that I had not felt for ages came upon me. I
closed my eyes to decide if this dream could be
real. I slowly opened my eyes and caught a
shooting star fly over treetops. Tears fell from
my eyes and streamed down my cheeks. I had
seen the true beauty of nature and God. Those
few minutes helped me find the courage to
change.
It was not easy to make the decision to stop
using drugs. It was even harder to actually stop.
Quitting has given me hope and a reason to be
proud of myself. It has helped me grow stronger
and more mature.