Last year when my mom was going through some of her belongings she came across an essay I wrote my senior year of high school (talk about ancient! lol). I wrote it around April 2002 about my brother and in September 2002 he was murdered. Today is my brother's birthday. He would be 33 years old. I thought I'd share the essay.
It is one in the morning, the phone rings and a mother jumps out of the bed to see who it is. Her heart pounds from within. Thoughts fill her head about her son, Lance. "Is he alright?" she wonders. Lance lived with his grandmother and was never home. Knowing of his drug problem, his mother always thought the worst when the phone rang at night. This is not only a scenario of one family, but it is a scenario of millions of families around the world. Drug use among teenagers can lead to broken relationships, problems with the law, and even death.
Drug abuse can lead to a breakdown in a teenager's life. The days drugs aren't being used are days filled with a craving. The drug user eventually loses best friends and family. It seems that no matter how hard the family tries to help the addict, he refuses to get help and then thinks badly of the ones trying to help him. That is how it was with Lance. He lost respect for his family. He once fist fought with his mother - his own flesh and blood - over something little. His daily use of drugs had caused him to do something he would have never thought of doing before. As he lost respect for his family, he gained respect for the ones supplying him with the drugs. Each day of drug use was leading him farther away from a clean life to a life filled with heartache, sorrow, and trouble with the law. Just like drugs can cause relationshop problems, they can also cause you to do things that you had never thought you would ever do - like get in trouble with the law. One small thing leads to a big thing, a big thing like jail. Lance first got into big trouble with the law when he was caught with drugs in his car. The law sent hime to a rehab and put him on probation. He was later sent to a hospital to help him overcome his addiction. Sadly, it did not help him much because he was again caught with drugs in his car and also a gun. Drugs can change a morally good person into a horrible person. Lance really was not that bad of a teenager; it was the drugs that did this to him. Many teenagers are like this; their whole life turns to shambles. Luckily, Lance was put in jail where he could eventually get out, and not sent to the grave where he could never escape.
The worst thing that could have happened to Lance would have been death. Many times Lance could have been a goner, but he had a mother and father who would always pray for him. He once returned to his grandmother's house with gunshot holes and broken glass in his truck windows. His family listened carefully to the radio when it talked about murders that just happened, praying that it was not Lance. Fortunately, Lance never got hurt. He had just recently gotten out of jail one night when he called his mother and asked to stay at her house for a while. Come to find out, he had overdosed on cocaine and wanted help. That night his mother, father, and youngest sister watched over him as he slept. His sister woke up in the middle of the night to her mom and dad praying over Lance. He was shaking violently and was on his deathbed. He made it through that night - thank God - but did not learn from that experience and was later sent to jail again. Some stories do not usually end this way; the drug user can also die.
Once in jail, Lance reflected on his life. Thinking about all the mistakes he made caused him to change his life forever. He realized that the use of drugs caused broken relationships, law problems, and death. See, Lance is my brother. The scariest moment in my life was the thought that I might lose Lance to drugs. I remember praying real hard for Lance, hoping he would make it through. This experience was an impact on my life because it was then that I truly understood what drugs could do to a person. It messes up one's whole life. Lance learned from his mistakes and I pray everyday that he will never fall to drugs again. Just one tiny drag of a drug can lead to a lifetime filled with pain.
It is one in the morning, the phone rings and a mother jumps out of the bed to see who it is. Her heart pounds from within. Thoughts fill her head about her son, Lance. "Is he alright?" she wonders. Lance lived with his grandmother and was never home. Knowing of his drug problem, his mother always thought the worst when the phone rang at night. This is not only a scenario of one family, but it is a scenario of millions of families around the world. Drug use among teenagers can lead to broken relationships, problems with the law, and even death.
Drug abuse can lead to a breakdown in a teenager's life. The days drugs aren't being used are days filled with a craving. The drug user eventually loses best friends and family. It seems that no matter how hard the family tries to help the addict, he refuses to get help and then thinks badly of the ones trying to help him. That is how it was with Lance. He lost respect for his family. He once fist fought with his mother - his own flesh and blood - over something little. His daily use of drugs had caused him to do something he would have never thought of doing before. As he lost respect for his family, he gained respect for the ones supplying him with the drugs. Each day of drug use was leading him farther away from a clean life to a life filled with heartache, sorrow, and trouble with the law. Just like drugs can cause relationshop problems, they can also cause you to do things that you had never thought you would ever do - like get in trouble with the law. One small thing leads to a big thing, a big thing like jail. Lance first got into big trouble with the law when he was caught with drugs in his car. The law sent hime to a rehab and put him on probation. He was later sent to a hospital to help him overcome his addiction. Sadly, it did not help him much because he was again caught with drugs in his car and also a gun. Drugs can change a morally good person into a horrible person. Lance really was not that bad of a teenager; it was the drugs that did this to him. Many teenagers are like this; their whole life turns to shambles. Luckily, Lance was put in jail where he could eventually get out, and not sent to the grave where he could never escape.
The worst thing that could have happened to Lance would have been death. Many times Lance could have been a goner, but he had a mother and father who would always pray for him. He once returned to his grandmother's house with gunshot holes and broken glass in his truck windows. His family listened carefully to the radio when it talked about murders that just happened, praying that it was not Lance. Fortunately, Lance never got hurt. He had just recently gotten out of jail one night when he called his mother and asked to stay at her house for a while. Come to find out, he had overdosed on cocaine and wanted help. That night his mother, father, and youngest sister watched over him as he slept. His sister woke up in the middle of the night to her mom and dad praying over Lance. He was shaking violently and was on his deathbed. He made it through that night - thank God - but did not learn from that experience and was later sent to jail again. Some stories do not usually end this way; the drug user can also die.
Once in jail, Lance reflected on his life. Thinking about all the mistakes he made caused him to change his life forever. He realized that the use of drugs caused broken relationships, law problems, and death. See, Lance is my brother. The scariest moment in my life was the thought that I might lose Lance to drugs. I remember praying real hard for Lance, hoping he would make it through. This experience was an impact on my life because it was then that I truly understood what drugs could do to a person. It messes up one's whole life. Lance learned from his mistakes and I pray everyday that he will never fall to drugs again. Just one tiny drag of a drug can lead to a lifetime filled with pain.
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