The turning point

If somebody were to hand me a drink today, I would say no. Whenever I think about drinking, I think about that night in the cop car…

April 2010

I was at a friend’s house and left because I wanted to drink. I went to a bar down the street and got drunk by myself. I went outside to have a cigarette and passed out on the sidewalk. The next thing I knew, two cops were waking me up. They found marijuana on me and gave me tickets for public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia.

I thought about what happened for a day then told my parents everything. It felt good to be honest. They had caught me in so many lies. A family friend represented me in court and was able to get my charge lessened to possession of marijuana, instead of drug paraphernalia.

The day after I told my parents, I researched AA meetings on the computer and found the closest one. Hours later, I went to my first meeting. It was amazing and I went again for the next three nights. At one point, I actually found myself in a meeting with a group of girls I used to drink and do drugs with.

When I went to my sentencing, the judge was impressed I had filled an entire sheet with proof of meetings I had gone to in the month since my arrest. I was ordered to attend two AA meetings a week and am on one year of inactive probation. I have to report to my probation officer once a month.

Getting arrested was a blessing in disguise.