Drug courier to weekend underage drinking.... why Febfast means so much to me.

Day 10 of febfast today - the weekend was a nice quiet one with lots of physical activity to keep me busy so my brain didn't want coffee and wine.  In the big scheme of things I might be a little grumpy  for 28 days because I cannot have my cup of brew when I want too but first world problems really.  It puts into perspective at how quickly someone's life can be ruined by addiction.  We all walk around thinking it will never happen to us or someone we know, but unfortunately that is not the case.

 

We’ve all heard the media stories, ‘Teenagers and alcohol: a deadly cocktail!’. Money raised through febfast goes to programs which help the most vulnerable of these young people and families who are tackling serious alcohol and drug issues.

 

 

As a young teenager, I was first inspired to donate to alcohol and drug rehabilitation by my Mum.  Every year she used to get a letter from a rehabilitation house in Sydney (we lived in a remote town in the Pilbara that definitely had lots of drugs/alcohol problems).  I remember thinking why on earth is she sending all that money to a place that none of us will ever go to (how naive of me) so I asked her why she sends the money to a place we would never need or go to? Her reply "if anything happens to you or Kerrie with drugs or alcohol it is comforting to know there are places that would help you". Bam.  No denial there at all that her kids would NEVER do drugs or be addicted to alcohol. I like my mother am a realist.

Am so glad that neither of us required rehab, my only bad addiction was smoking the odd ciggy and weed some weekends. For me I grew up playing sport and was so passionate about I didn't want to ruin my body with harder drugs to be "with the in crowd". A couple of times I even delivered an ounce of weed to friends on the way to softball practice, the courier, never thought anything about it.  Alcohol on the other hand was the biggest problem, being readily available at every underage party I went too.  I drank underage, I did give in to the drinking culture of a small mining town, funnily enough that was considered normal.  I saw friends turn on each other always fighting, a friend of mine lost her dad when he tried to stop a fight at the front of the local pub, he fell, hit his head and died. It can happen to anyone, at anytime. 

I was lucky that I had great friends and family who I knew I could ask for help at anytime. That for me was the best feeling, knowing I was responsible for my actions but I also knew that if I really fucked up, no matter how bad, that my parents would always be there to help me.    That isn't the same for everyone and sometimes it could be the family unit or friends that leads to a bad decision that changes their life.  Yes they "choose" to try drugs, or alcohol and they think they are in control but they slowly lose that control. No support. No respect they dive deeper into the addiction/habit without feeling like they have other options.  I say until you have been there, you will never know exactly what they are dealing with... this is why Febfast and the work they support is crucial for our children, families. I believe everyone deserves support and a chance to get their lives back.