The first stage, experimentation, is the voluntary use of
alcohol or other drugs. With my sister this began her freshman year in high
school. Since it seems to be a normal thing for teens to experiment a little in
high school no one really thought of it as a big deal. It started out as
smoking weed, which seems to be what everyone does, so my family didn't notice
any red flags. A few months into her freshman year a close family friend passed
away. He was only 19 and because of the sudden loss by suicide, we were all
lost for a while. I was only in 6th grade, so although it profoundly affected
me, it led my sister down a dangerous path. Because I was young, I didn't
realize how dangerous her actions had become.
With my mom being a single mother it was usually just my
sister and I at home. Having all her friends over to smoke became the normal
thing to me, and it didn’t seem like anything I should tell my mom about.
Although, looking back on it now, I wish I had. As my sisters freshman year
progressed so did her drug use. It turned from experimentation into a regular
thing for her.
