How Bad Company Introduced me to Alcoholism- Walker 24

I always craved freedom.

I was raised in Kisumu, where I went through my academic journey from primary school to college. Growing up, I had a strict parent, my father, who always ensured that we did everything as per his expectations. I always craved freedom. My dad is a recovering alcoholic; this means that he has stopped drinking, and he lives every day trying not to drink. He has not taken alcohol for over 26 years and has been a clergyman.

Bad company corrupts good morals.

When I joined college, my father rented me a house. There, I had all the freedom that I always yearned for. I made new friends with classmates who appeared more “civilized” than I was. My new friends were clubbing guys and always knew where the next rave and bash venue would be. As factual as it is, bad company corrupts good morals. My morals got compromised. I started drinking with them experimentally. On the first day, I never liked it and wanted to quit, but they hyped me. So I never stopped anyway until I really started liking it.

I’ll control it, I thought.

I enjoyed how good the euphoric feeling that alcohol provided and convinced myself that I could do it occasionally, only on event days and special days. Event days and special days started piling up on the bucket list, so out of the seven days of the week, four days became event days. I started missing classes, getting rude, and losing focus. My academic life started deteriorating.

I became tolerant to alcohol

I became tolerant to alcohol and started drinking more than I intended to. My attention started to diminish. My memory span became shorter, and I couldn’t remember what I was in the classes that I attended. I became disoriented and always in a daze. At some point, I couldn’t even tell whether it was Monday or Wednesday or even the date. My girlfriend started complaining about my behaviour. She stated that she was concerned and talked to me about it. She did not know I was trying to control it, but I was overwhelmed.

I changed my circle of friends.

The first thing I got in abundance was a rare kind of support from my girlfriend. She talked to me about the harm that alcohol was causing to me. She advised me, and I agreed with her. I changed my circle of friends, built new friendships with people who had impactful intentions for me and it helped me a lot. I also relocated and sacrificed my “freedom” to avoid a possible relapse. I sought refuge in religion, and it has since been my belief that spirituality is a key factor in shaping my sobriety.

You can do it!

I would like to encourage anyone going through alcoholism due to peer pressure to avoid the people, places and events that influence them to take alcohol, and they will overcome it just like I did. It is rather to keep good company. Also, be honest with yourself about the actual danger of alcohol; it can be fun, but for how long?