Chapter 9

As a young man I drank to rebel against my parents and everything that they stood for in my life. My father was a part time minister and a full time highway patrolman. Growing up everyone thought that I was a goodie-goodie and so I started to drink. I never realized that my drinking which at first was to rebel soon became a way to fill an emotional void. My parents had seven kids and my dad worked two jobs. My parents didn’t have a lot of time for each of us and it only got worse when my younger brother died. I was sent to live with the neighbors for a time as my mother struggled with a bout of depression. I have had a lot of opportunity to look back on my life and I realized that my drinking which started in eighth grade was for me a way to hide the pain of being forgotten my mother and wanting to prove that just because my dad was a cop and a minister I could be just as tough as everyone else.
I can look at some of my students and realize that they are doing the same thing. The one’s I know are drinking and experimenting with marijuana are the one’s who are seeking to fill a void created primarily through divorce. The student’s who I know are experimenting are the one’s who are craving their parents to notice them and spend time with them.
The stories that they tell of their experiences with the drinking and the marijuana are filled with dramatic acts and deeds that if they were sober or clearheaded the students never would have considered doing such stupid things. I find myself sharing some of my experiences and trying to guide and caution my students to avoid the traps and pitfalls that their experimentation will bring. My one hope is that possibly some might listen.