I Thank You, God, That I Had the Chance to Do this Program!
I was born in Palmdale, California where I grew up and lived with my family. Before I started using drugs my life was happy. I was really engaged in school, I loved helping people and anything that had to do with the outdoors. I was popular and did gymnastics, I was a very happy girl.
Some of the happiest moments I have before doing drugs was spending time with my grandma and grandpa. I did all kinds of things with my grandparents. We would fish, play cards, build things and work on little projects together, and my grandma would always take me shopping, which was a lot of fun.
I really enjoyed cooking with them, learning all kinds of things about different dishes, and how to prepare and cook them. My grandparents had a restaurant in Independence, California, and they even named it after me! It was called “Hooligans.”
My senior year of high school is when it all started. My boyfriend at the time had brought some Vicodin to school. The rest is pretty straightforward. He gave me a couple to take, I took them, and that was where it all started.
I continued to do drugs, I took Vicodin, Xanax, weed, Oxy—really, any kind of pill that would make me feel good. I did that for about four years. Then it started to get out of control. My family could no longer trust me. I realized I was not going anywhere in life. I had taken classes to be a nurse and I failed my license exam. I was not healthy, I lost a lot of weight, and I was often physically sick. One of the worst parts of all this is that I was totally not being true to myself. I had turned into someone I could not get away from no matter how hard I tried to cover it up or make excuses, and that was worse than anything else.
At the end of my addiction, my parents were desperate for help. My mom’s sister had done the Narconon program 20 years before and was doing great. So, they got with her and contacted Narconon for help.
When I first got to Narconon Arrowhead, I was totally against rehab. I did not really want to go and I was upset that I was there. The staff helped me work through my upset and stuck with me. I realized that I needed to take an honest look at the situation and give this thing a chance because it could be what would save my life.
Having a chance to address the things that I have not been able to confront for a long time was really one of my biggest wins. I was able to gain the ability to control what happens in my life and it really helped me to see things in a different way. I now know how to positively control things in my life, things that I thought I had no control over before, and that was amazing.
I am looking forward to having a great relationship with my family. I am looking forward to finding someone special that treats me the way I NOW KNOW I DESERVE to be treated, and I am really excited about getting my license to be a nurse and focusing on my career.
My favorite thing about being drug-free is I’m not always mad anymore. I see more clearly, I pay attention to things and take more time to look things over and I have fun!
“It is okay to take help when it’s offered. I didn’t ask for help,
but when it was offered, I took it!”
If there is someone out there in active addiction, know that it’s best to get ahead of it because It WILL catch up with up. You’re hurting your family and everyone that cares about you and, most importantly, you’re hurting yourself. It is okay to take help when it’s offered. I didn’t ask for help, but when it was offered, I took it!
The Narconon program is a miracle worker and very unique in many ways and I thank you, God, that I had the chance to do this program!
—Brianna C., Narconon Arrowhead Graduate
