I Stopped Drinking After The Accident - Roba 21

It's "grown-up stuff" and none of my business.

Watching my dad and his friends indulge in alcohol at family events used to make me wonder what joy they found in it. Every time I would find a group of men hurdled in one place, holding and sipping on mugs with a pungent smell, while talking and laughing. I asked my mom and aunties one day what that was, but they shrugged me off, saying it was "grown-up stuff" and none of my business. My older cousins would also send us to the store to get them "drinks" with a strict warning not to open or look inside for fear that we would taste or tell on them.

I couldn't resist the urge.

One day, curiosity got the best of me. I was back from school, and Mary, our nanny, had poured me fresh juice, instructing me to hurry and do my homework before my parents came home from work. But I didn't want juice that day; I wanted a taste of the beer cans that I had been forbidden even to touch. They were many anyway, and he wouldn't notice if one went missing. The taste was nothing I ever experienced, and after downing the whole bottle and throwing it away, I quickly finished my juice and started on my homework.

The room started spinning.

Halfway through, I started feeling dizzy, and my sight was blurry. I kept thinking that maybe I was exhausted from school. I woke in a hospital bed to see my parents glaring at me. My mother reprimanded me for my indiscipline and my dad for bringing alcohol into the house.

Guess I didn't learn.

Fast forward to high school, and I was indulging in alcohol every chance I got. From wine during opening days to shots of hard liquor on the closing days before I got home. My parents were never home due to work, so they never knew. I was sneaking out to my friends' houses for parties, which was the holiday norm. As for the holiday assignments, I usually copied or paid a classmate to do them for me. My grades were always low, but I never cared. All I wanted was to have fun with my friends.

Lights out, Crash

One drastic night I changed my life. My friends and I, although highly intoxicated, decided to attend a party on the outskirts of our town. I took my dad's car because we could all fit in, and off we went! However, on the highway, I lost control of the vehicle, and the next thing, the car was flying off the road and into a ditch.

Broken but not defeated

My head hurt, and so did my whole body when I finally woke up. I heard my mom crying and thanking the lord for keeping me alive and saw my dad pacing across the room. When I asked what had happened, he said I was in a car accident three days ago and almost died. He told me my friends survived the crash but were seriously injured. He said he hoped I had seen the consequences of my action and would help, but only if I wanted to change.

Second chance, better choices

During the following painful months of trying to get by and recover, my dad quit drinking, too and helped me through my healing and rehabilitation process. It wasn't easy, but I had love and support from my family, and I got through. I apologized to my friends and parents and worked to improve myself. I am now an undergraduate student who looks forward to a successful career in the future. To any young person, you do not have to learn the hard way like I did.