There is a reason why I have sworn myself never to drink, and I feel as though it is a good one. They say if a parent of a child drank a lot then that child is most likely too. But not me. In fact, I despise Alcohol. Why?
My dad was an alcoholic.
There is such a clear difference between a child that lives with an alcoholic vs. one who does not. And I can relate to living with one. My dad was a drinker, a big one. And it almost tore my family apart.
Every night, he’d go out and buy beer, come home, and drink it. That was his life. Around $1,500 dollars a year he spent on beer. He was depressed, angry, and didn’t know what to do with his life.
The effects this had on the family was unbelievable. Arguments every night, things being thrown, my sisters crying, it was chaos. And all I could do was sit in my room hoping he didn’t bust through in his drunken state, yelling at me that I don’t take out the trash as much as I should and what not.
The word divorce flung around from time to time. He would come home at 3:00 am because he spent all his money on beer and couldn’t get a taxi back causing him to walk home. In the morning he was mad, just assumed we don’t remember anything that happened last night.
For 15 years my life was a living hell. All I wanted to do was to be put in a different family. All I would think about at school is how others don’t have to go through what I did. I was so jealous of their lives, coming home just worrying about homework instead of worrying about avoiding a drunk father.
One night, I had the worst night of my life. It started with lots of arguments between my mom and dad as usually, a few banging of furniture. Then silence. From there I thought they cooled down and it was time to go to bed. And just after a few moments, I heard someone cursing outside at the top of their lungs. Laughing to myself I thought at least that’s not my dad… until I realized it was.
I laid in my bed, scared, embarrassed, and depressed. I was done with this shit. But I couldn’t stop it, so all I could do is wait in my bed, thinking about how my friends and neighbors relationships will never be the same. I will now be the kid everyone feels sorry for because his dad is a bad alcoholic.
It was a late, and after a few hours silence fell. I soon learned that my dad was taken to the police office. Relieved, I went to sleep.
The next morning I went to school, glad to be anywhere but home. And I didn’t want school to end. When I came home however, I heard the best news I could have possibly wanted: My dad has decided to quit drinking.
The next year of my life improved at an unbelievable pace. Sure, there were some ups and downs. Some arguments still but none of that mattered. Now, I didn’t have to worry about my dad dying at a young age, didn’t have to worry about being brought into a drunk argument.
It was easier to focus on task I had to do, and my relationship with my dad improved greatly. So if you’re a heavy drinker, think about the effects you have on others. Think about your family friends, and think about whether or not you should be doing what you’re doing. If you’re trying to quit that’s fantastic, but if not try to at least tone it down.
There are a lot of reasons to go out for a drink, it was a bad day, it was a good day, it’s Monday, it’s Friday, there are countless reasons. But we can’t focus on the reasons why we should, we must focus on the reasons why we shouldn’t.
AverageHumanBeings 