While going to college I have seen first hand how a 12 step campus can help a person. While not an alcoholic myself, I have drug users in my family, and my group of friends. One very close friend of mine joined a twelve step programon campus 90 days ago and the results have been incredible. She has taken that brave first step of admission, and surrendered her decisions to a higher power alongside a group of supporters. This has enabled her to stay in control one day at a time. The twelve step campus she is a member of gives her the confidence to stand tall in difficult situations where her addiction could normally get the better of her. Within 90 days she has improved her positive energy, her healthy habits and most of all, her enjoyment of life. She writes in her journal every night after doing her homework and before going to sleep, about the journey she accomplished that day. She calls her sponsor at 7 a.m. every morning before class to commit her plan for the day. The amount of dedication she has to this twelve step program is admirable and makes me think about what I’m missing out on. I claim no uncontrollable vice of my own, but is that the truth?
Her newfound pattern of life brings me to question my own decisions while living on campus. I wonder if I could be happier, healthier, more mentally and physically fit if I figured out what my vices were and found a progam on campus of my own. I decided to do some research. What I found quite shocked me. There is literally a twelve step program on my campus for just about everything! From online gaming to workaholics! And if there isn’t one, then surely it could be brought up with the campus administration and arranged. I have yet to figure out which program would be right for me. I think sometimes anger management may do me some good, or procrastinators anonymous. If there is a twelve step program for manic depressiveness, that would certainly be my program. But I’m curious to know if a bunch of us manic depressives gather twelve times a month in the same place, would their cycles align? I can see it now. One day everyone in the room is ready to give up on everything, and then next week we decide to throw a party with a banner that says, “Nothing Can Stop Us!!!!” I don’t know. There are certainly things that I can change, and maybe I need some sort of intervention to find out what needs the most attention. I suppose that if it’s a big enough problem, it will find me. But until then I continue to draw inspiration from watching this close and dear friend of mine change her life one day at a time.
But as well as making me question my own vices, her new ways have been rubbing off on me Because we are so close her lifestyle has a profound effect on my own and we tend to mimic each other’s habits. In this case, because her lifestyle has changed for the positive and I am entirely supportive, I no longer eat as much. All said and done, I have an enormous respect for my college for providing 12 step programs to help people overcome the things they do not have the strength to overcome alone. I have seen first hand the positive changes that are possible as a result.
