My Runaway Experience

I am 14 years old...
My runaway experience started on March 1st, 2002. I was at Opportunity school, as usual. I had been there for about 2 weeks already. I was placed there because of being kicked out of my original middle school for possession of a concealed weapon, and prescription drugs without a prescription. I was in 7th grade, and 12 years old. I was going to go home, as usual, but something told me not to that day... something inside of me. So, I took the bus home with my friend Eric. And we later went to a party at one of his friends houses. That was the beginning of my experience. I got really drunk, and smoked a lot of weed... and so on. I ended up sleeping on the floor of a MENS bathroom in a park with two guy friends of mine, that I'd met earlier that night.

The next day, they took me over to some friends of theirs, from the party, and I stayed with them. For the next 3 and a half weeks, I was in another world. I was on drugs the whole time I was away from my home. I was using things I had never done before... like meth amphetamine, heroine, weed, drinking all the time, mushrooms, acid, even popping pills on top of it all. I was so messed up. I couldn't think clearly at all. Every now and then, I would stay with a guy I'd met, he was a 20 year old pot dealer that worked at Pizza Hut. He'd let me stay with him and we'd smoke together, for a couple days on end, then I'd go back to where I was originally. I would smoke about 3-6 bowls of meth a day just to get by, just to not have to feel anything... it was horrible.

I remember the first time I did heroine, it would definitely be the last... I was with some of the people I'd met, and some guy at one of the parties had some. He told me it would be the best thing I'd ever try in my life...so I did...but I didn't do it at my will. I tried to back out of it, but these people were crazy, wanted to see the (newbie) on it for the first time. So after kicking and screaming, they wrestled me to the ground and got the needle into my arm. I remember passing in and out of consciousness. I was throwing up blood and my eyes were rolling in the back of my head. I couldn't talk and it was so hard to breathe now... I thought I was dying... I had overdosed... I woke the next day, sometime mid afternoon to see blood on my shirt and decided that I'd never do that again... Only to smoke some more meth that day.

The next week, I continued to drink, and use constantly, and it seemed to increase... like I couldn't get enough. The last two days I was gone, March 23rd and 24th, I stayed with my friends next door neighbor, because things were heated around the neighborhood. Posters were out all around for me. I remember he and I scored some meth and alcohol and did it all that night. I was falling asleep and couldn't stay awake. The last thing I remember was my head hitting the wall and him yelling at me, calling me names... He had taken advantage of me.

The next day, I slept 'till dark. We got up and walked around to look for some more dope. It was about 2:20 in the morning. We made it about 10 minutes down the road, and the cops pulled us over for curfew. They called my parents and I was sent home immediately.

I am 14 years old now, have been placed in 4 rehabilitation centers. I am an active member of active member of Alcoholics Anonymous. I have over a year clean and sober. All I have to say to those who have been through what I have, or something similar is: Do not ever forget where you were when you were there... But please do not ever go back there. It is an awful place to be and you do not deserve to be there, ever.

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