The Awakening

The Awakening

A little over a year ago I had never seen weed nor did I have any desire to. I was a good Christian girl and I held my morals very high; however, that eventually all changed. I became very curious about marijuana as I helped a good friend cope with his struggles of the drug. Well, this didn’t help my own curiosity. Finally, one day I worked up the audacity to ask my friend if he would be willing to smoke weed with me. I remember very vividly going down to my city’s local park as I sat in his car watching him roll this unfamiliar green substance into the only paper we had, which was telephone book paper. At the time I had never even smoked a cigarette so the idea of puffing on this joint was completely new to me. Ironically, my friend explained to me how to smoke by comparing it to taking an inhaler as we both are asthmatic. After taking my first hit the burning in my throat was like nothing I had ever felt before. I coughed so hard to the point that I thought I was going to throw up, but the sensation I felt from my first high got me hooked. I loved it and even more I loved the idea that I

was doing something that I knew was wrong. Afterwards I felt the guilt, but I put that aside. I began smoking weed more and more frequently and I ultimately got to the point that I allowed marijuana to completely consume my life. I was at an all time low. I was constantly lying to my family, my friends and myself. I became a completely different person. I went from being a good Christian girl with high morals to an agnostic pot head waiting for her next high. The last day I smoked weed was June 11, 2008. My destructive lifestyle was abruptly stopped by a Christian event called The Awakening, which is a three day retreat designed specifically for high school students to grow closer to Jesus Christ. I had no desire whatsoever to go, but little did I know that those three days would completely change my life. While I was there I literally experienced a personal awakening. I finally came to realize that the person I had become was a complete stranger to me. I had completely lost myself and my faith in God, but that experience allowed me to regain both. It has

nearly been two months since the last time I smoked marijuana and I have never been more proud of my accomplishments. Marijuana doesn’t cause you to be cool; it only causes a moment of gratification and a lifetime of regret.