As some of you loyal Neave fans have read, I recently found myself in jail because I made the horrible decision to drink and drive. Three words: It’s been hell. I have never felt so emotionally and mentally drained in my life. I let my parents down, I let myself down, and everyone else that had faith in me and my dreams.
It’s been over a month and I finally got my sentencing. My mind has been so cluttered with all that’s been going on that I can’t even breathe. I now have 6 months to attempt to fix only the slightest bit of damage I’ve done, most of which consists of hefty fines, endless hours of community service, and checking myself into numerous alcohol programs.
Tonight I found myself handling late night business online and out of nowhere my friend instant messages me, “I’m going to 28 Days.” He then continues to confess that he’s checking himself into rehab (let’s call him Tom). Tom has been battling with an addiction to pain killers which he got prescribed due to an injury four years ago. I’ll admit, at first I didn’t know how to react. What exactly are you supposed to do when someone comes to you with big news like that?
The only thing I could do was tell him the truth, all of which he already knew; he’s got a problem and he’s got to come to terms with it and fix it. So many people suffer from addiction. Many are too afraid to deal with it, or are in denial that a life threatening problem even exists. I’ve seen too many throw their lives and money away and surrender to the almighty drug of their choice.
I can’t tell you how proud I am of Tom. “It takes a lot for you to admit that you’ve got a problem and man up. You’ve got a rough road ahead of you.” He does, but I know he’s going to be okay in the end. He’s making the conscious decision to get a hold of his life and make right with himself.
I’m trying my hardest to be the type of person that can look back at my past and admit my faults, and be proud that I was able to overcome the obstacles I was forced to face. You can’t always be proud of your decisions, but you can be proud of how you turn those bad decisions into life altering lessons. We’re only human, we live and we learn.
With the support of his family, friends, and his band backing him up 110%, he’s going to make it through it, we both will. As much as life seems to suck, sometimes we get handed lemons because we’re geniuses and can think of a million ways to spruce up lemons (No idea where I was going with that one?). Maybe in some way be both needed to find ourselves at our weakest points in life and learn to rise above it. We can’t let life defeat us, we only have ourselves to blame.
