Friday, April 17, 2009

Drugs, its pretty much teenagers life.

One cell phone call late Wednesday night a couple years back was the day I found my friend, John lukus was gone for a lifetime. He was a handsome young gentle man with a mind that was more mature than others. He didn’t have a high school degree but he was highly intelligent, until drugs became his obsession. John was closed to his mother Sharon and his baby sister katie. Me and his close friends didn’t realize was he into drugs till a few months after he started. The pale flushed look and the people he was hanging with is what got me to start asking questions.

The distances between us was getting father apart. He wouldn’t visit like he always did. “Users began to be distances towards people they know” (Waismann Method) When he did visit, John still had that pale sickly look so I ask him what was wrong. He would get defensive and just say he was sick. When I would hang out with other friends of his they would say the same thing that he was so pale and he didn’t look health. “dry mouth, loss of interest in usual healthy activity, Missing cash/valuables, stealing/borrowing money, and the change in friends are just some of the signs to look for in heroin users” (narconon). We all thought he was getting involved with drugs but we didn’t want to believe that. Weeks went by without hearing from him. Until one day I finally called his house and his mom answered the phone. We talked on the phone for close to an hour just talked about her oldest son. John didn’t come home for three days straight his mother told me. She was worried about him.

My friend and I visited him at his house when we got out of school. We sat down and talked about what was getting said about him and what he thinks he is doing. John was getting so irritated with what we had to say. We yelled back and forth until the truth came out. “Drug users try to hide there addiction from the ones that care for them” (waltson-mangel). He was a heroin user. Since then I didn’t look at him the same. “They don’t understand who they are hurting when they start up with drugs” (waltson-mangel).

The treatment plans was starting the next day since everyone already knew about his drug use. “Helping someone that’s addicted to drugs is not easy” (NIDA). The look on his face for not having that “high” he always got was unforgettable. With the withdrawals beginning, he was getting angry and craving the drug. “Withdrawals from heroin can cause restlessness, craving for the drug, vomiting and joint pains” (Spencer recovery centers). For months, help was all we were looking for. The clients, the online wed sites, the hotlines didn’t get us anywhere. John just didn’t want to go. Waltson-mangel would want John to know he had people that supported him and wanted to help.

Even through he didn’t want to go get help for his addiction, we still pressured him to. Trying to explain the harm or even the disease he could catch was like talking to a brick wall. “If heroin is use with a needle, you are taking the risk of catching AIDS/HIV, hepatitis, or even a skin disease” (Drug rehab). It started to be an everyday thing or should I say a multiple time a day thing now. No only did he turn down the help from his friends but also from his family. Everything just fell apart. Sharon tried everything to get him back on his feet again, but it was a useless battle. Stealing of money started to become an issue with him. No one would leave there belonging around him because he would steal money or pretty much anything to get money for the drug. The addiction just kept getting stronger and stronger. Visiting him just wasn’t the same. John developed a strong negative attitude towards everyone that stood in his view. He wasn’t as energetic as he use to. I started to loose hope in him.

Months went by without talking with john. I felt like there wasn’t any more I could do. I tried to help, but he didn’t want to help himself. When I seen his family around town, I would of course ask how he’s doing, but I couldn’t stand to here what they had to say. Let me just say drugs took his life over, it wasn’t just an obsession anymore. Sharon said he barely came around his own house. He was always out doing whatever with whomever. Sharon told me she had some bad news to tell me, John ended up catching hepatitis from sharing needles. I swear my heart stop that moment she told me. John is getting worst before he’s trying to get better.

Just when I thought nothing else could go worse for him. I got a call on my cell at 7:45pm on Wednesday about 3 months after I seen Sharon around town. It was terriable, heart breaking new. She was balling her eye out. I couldn’t even make out what she was saying. I told her to calm down and tell me what was wrong. I had a gut feeling it was about her son. Then it came out. John had died in his house from an overdoes of heroin. I just broke down, that was the end of me. I couldn’t even bare it. It felt like someone had ripped my heart out. It was a hard week for the people that knew him. It felt so unreal that it actually happened. The wake was the following Saturday. Everyone he knew was there to give there condolence. It was hard to see everyone standing there crying. It was also hard for me to expect the fact that one of my good friends had died from the use of drugs. Even till this day when August 18 comes around, a tear still drops from my eyes for a the remembrance of my friend John Lukus.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Macbeth Essay

In William Shakespeare’s, “Macbeth”, things aren’t what they seem. This theme is used many times throughout the play and in life today. This theme represents the idea of people doing things to benefit themselves even though you would never expect that. These things are often hurtful and make you mistrust people in general. It makes you realize that people lie just to make themselves look better as a person. It’s like living a lie in life. In Macbeth and life, having the opportunity to reflect on things that are not always what they seem gives you to chance to change it.
Macbeth was a man that liked power. That’s evident because he was a warrior and war hero. He was a strong leader amongst his men. He always took charge. He started to like the feeling of being in power. He meets an apparition in the woods and gives him message “Be bloody, bold, and resolute! Laugh to scorn the power of men – for none of women born shall harm Macbeth.” – Second Apparition. [4.1.87]. Macbeth mistook the message which leads him in the wrong direction. “I bear a charmed life which must not yield, To one of women born “[5.3.15]. He took it as no one could harm him in any way. Macbeth believed that all men were born from women. It never accrued to him that man could be born through a C-section. Macbeth not thinking beyond his own desires caused his own death.
Lady Macbeth was a sweet girl before she heard the prophecies. As a hostess she was welcoming and kind. She made everyone think she was this perfect person. Lady Macbeth started to desire becoming queen. Her desire was so strong she would kill for it.
“How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done this.” – Lady Macbeth. [1.7.60]. Any women that would harm an innocent baby has a severe problem. Lady Macbeth wanted to become queen so badly that she would kill a baby to achieve what she wanted. King Duncan went to Macbeth’s castle to thank him for being so heroic but instead of being welcomed by the Macbeth’s, he was killed by them. Lady Macbeth is not a great hostess.
Lady Macbeth couldn’t deal with the guilt of what she’s done. She thought she was as strong as a stone but turns out her body and mind was going in circles with regret. She later got paranoid thinking there was blood on her hands to the fact she was washing them several times daily. “Out damned spot! Out, I say! One, two. Why, then ‘tis time to do‘t. [5.216.30]. This is another example of things not being always what they seen, Medical insists that was trying to help her because they thought she was going mad didn’t really understand just why she was. With all that’s happened, she took her own life because of all the guilt she had built up inside her.
In Macbeth, things aren’t always what they seem. People act differently just to better themselves as a person. Things not being as they appear could make things boil. People start making decisions that are bad and that could result to taking there own life. With the mistrust of people could lead to the distance between one another and the feelings towards them.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Siddhartha Comes to America

One sunny afternoon I was just about to leave my house when I got a phone call. It was a good friend asking if I would like to take a friend of his on a tour around are area because he’ll be working all week and wouldn’t have to time. I said that would be okay. My friend gave me all the information to where I was meeting up with the guy, Siddhartha.
Two days after the call, his plain was landing at Bradley’s air port at noon. He was finally in America. I held up a sign with his name on it so we could contact with each other. Nice guy he was. He was wearing a gauze pants and gauze shirt. The first thing I thought was “He’s going to need to go to the mall.” We need to get clothes that will work with this weather. When he apporched me i introdced myself, “I’m Stacie; I’m the one that’s going to give you the tour around here”. Siddhartha replied “oh okay, that’s great, it’s nice to meet you!” “We must go to the mall to get other clothes for were I’m going to be bringing you” I said. I was planning on bringing you to the beach. It’s a place where we can go meditate and relax. “Let’s go back to the house; it’s been a long day!”
Next morning at 10:45am Siddhartha woke up, got ready then we headed to the mall. When we got there the look on his face was priceless. It’s like something he’s never seen before. At the mall we buzzed through majority of the stores but he couldn’t find anything he was interested in until we came to JCPenny’s. I bought him a pair of sandals, bathing suit, a pair of jeans and a shirt. When he came out of the dressing room with the clothes he picked out, he looked totally different. He gave the mirror a hard glare then he said “I can’t believe I’m wearing American clothes”. You could tell he was overwhelmed with excitement. Siddhartha finally chosen the clothes he wonted. When we were in line waiting to cash out, Siddhartha was touching and grad everything in site. He was like a kid in a candy store. I was Hungary so I decided to bring him to the food chart to grad a bite to eat. With all the choices we could pick from he couldn’t make up his mind. We finally decided and eat what we got. Driving home from the mall I seen he looked exhausted so I turned and said “Maybe we could get home it’s been a busy day, let get some rest”. He knobbed his head and we headed to my apartment for some shut eye. Siddhartha slept on my couch because there was no where’s else to sleep.