Mariah Frost
January 17, 2011
H. English 3-4
A Life I Have Lived….
I have been a fighter since day one, being born three months early, only weighing 3 lbs. I had little chance of surviving, I proved everyone wrong though, I made it through that and here I am today still proving others wrong. I have been through so much and still going through it as of today…I wish I could change it, but sadly I cannot, so here it is the number one thing that changed me as an individual, the things I go through because of my dad.
I am 16 years old and there is so much I have experienced these past 16 years. Do you think I loved going through all of it? No, not at all, but there is one major thing it has done to me, it made me a whole lot stronger. It all started when I was six years old, my dad was addicted to drugs and alcohol very bad. My life was crazy every single day; it hurt me to see my dad like this, and knowing I could not help him. As time went on things only got worse, I felt like there was no help for him, but I was wrong, because there was help for him, I realized that not in a good way though. My dad got caught with drugs and I was there when it happened. Wow, being six years old and seeing all this made me so scared, I did not know what was going to happen to my dad, I thought I was never going to see him again.
After that my dad got put in jail for a little while, I missed my dad terribly bad and I was always wishing I could see him. They gave my dad a choice of staying in jail or going to rehab, my dad chose to go to rehab. He went to rehab in South Dakota; he was there for thirty days. I felt like those were the longest days of my life. I was going to bed every night crying because I could not see him every day. My family and I went up there on the weekends to see him that was the best ever, I never wanted the weekends to end, because then I would not be able to see him. I realized a lot when I was up there, on how addictions work and how people get help.
Then when my dad was released from rehab, I felt as if life was perfect in my eyes. I had the dad who was always there for me, helped me with things, spent the holidays with our family, had a positive attitude and was very loving and caring. I was so proud of my dad, he came along way, and he went from being addicted to his alcohol and drugs to not caring one bit about them. All he cared about was his family that was his number one priority in life. He went to Alcohol Anonymous meetings. Those helped him stay focused; I was always there by his side during those.
Sad to say, that life I thought was perfect in my eyes, did not last long. My dad relapsed and was back to his old ways. Still as of today, he is not the dad I wish I could have, but I still love him. I dislike going through the stuff I go through in my everyday life, but you know what it only makes me stronger! I see him with his addictions, and I always think to myself, “Dad I wish I could change you back into the person you use to be.” I feel as if it is worse now than before he went to rehab, which I hate, but I cannot change it, I can just hope that my future is a whole lot better than my past.
So tell me do you know any other girl that has been through all that, and still focuses on her schoolwork, gets good grades, has a positive attitude and wakes up with a smile on her face every day? No, I don’t think so. Everything I went through and still go through makes me the strong, positive girl I am today. I know I will continue to stay focused and achieve my dreams as my life continues. I have been a fighter since day one and that will never change!
