Captain Kirk

i've just reccently realized that being an alcoholic/addict has done irreversable dammage to my life.
one thing that it's cost me has been my education. i'm never going to have a nice job because i have no qualifications.
what has alcoholism and/or addiction cost you?

Emimily

hmm... in sobriety, i can do anything. so can you, so why not go back to school?

today, i don't focus too much time on what "irreversible damage" my alcoholism caused me, i try to focus on how i'm going to spend my 24 hours. today i'm going to try to put more into life than i take out. we'll talk about tomorrow tomorrow.

good luck.

Rusty Zipper

aldo, what worked for me, and many others... try to get the focus on what needs to be focused on first!


right now, it aint the education, or the job!

and to answer your question...

it cost me my soul!

i have it back now!

Rowan

I lost my daughter, Aldo, 3 years ago. She is 15 now, and lives with her Dad. She doesn't want to be in my life.
Staying sober today gives me hope that one day she will change her mind.

Captain Kirk

I'm sorry for you Rowan.
I don't mean to sound selfish but that's the kind of answers to the question I was hoping to hear.
I've been having a bad few days and I'm feeling sorry for myself that I've wasted so many opportunitys and I'm going to have to take a slave job and I'm never going to have a nice car again - but in comparission to loosing ones daughter or ones soul not having a nice car (material) isn't going to be too bad i guess. maybe some day I'll get another nice car. i'll probably have to really bust my butt working hard for it this time though but i guess it's not irreplaceable.
Thanks. I hope maybe one day your daughter will see you for the wonderful person you have become. I wish I had a mom like you.

tellus

Aldo, I still don't get why you can't continue your education. I'm starting back up in the fall, taking a completely different track than the one I started out in. You're only a few years older than me, if I'm remembering correctly? Your life is not irretrievable.

(I think everyone wishes Ro was their mom. It's 'cause she's awesome. )

Rowan

I'm only 40! I'm too young to be your Mom! But thanks for the compliment

nandm

Aldo I am in agreement here. I have returned to school in sobriety. Ironically it isn't because I was in a dead end job as I have been a nurse for 20 years. But the reason I am back in school is that I realize that I have choices today. I never really wanted to be a nurse so I am taking a chance today and going for a degree in biology. I have always been interested in animals so that degree will open doors for me in wildlife biology, marine biology, or animal behavioral fields. I stopped dreaming about doing something like this a long time ago as I lost hope of achieving my dreams while using. In sobriety I once again have developed goals and dreams. I am doing things today that I was only able to believe I would never do while drinking.

Take a chance, there is financial aid out there to return to school. It is worth looking into. Here is a link that you might find interesting regarding financial aid FastWeb: Scholarships, Financial Aid and Colleges

1cor13

Aldo1980,

Maybe I'm better off being the man God intended me to be instead of me being the man I wanted to be. There's no doubt that like you I have done irreversible damage to my life. However I do know one thing. There is nothing God can’t fix, solve, or has overlooked and my life is exactly the way he wants it right now.

I turned my will and my life over to God and all sorts of wonderful things happened. The most important thing, I can look myself in the eye when I'm in the mirror and know that I am loved. After that everything is just a bonus.

I went back to college, got good jobs, ran multi million dollar businesses and married the woman of my dreams but still today the most important thing in life is having the ability to love myself. Having the ability to look in that mirror and see my true reflection and love it.