Darren again, obviously, as you are currently reading my wonderful blog.
My parents seriously never had a real talk with me about drugs, and I think that was part of my problem. I’m blaming them for my addiction, I take full responsibility. But they never sat me down and explained how addiction worked and why drugs were so terrible. Instead they just always yelled about not doing them and how they’d ruin my life. They also said that about a lot of other things like television or dating.
So of course, when marijuana turned out to be not so bad, I figured they were exaggerating like everyone else. Keith Richards did drugs, and he was one of the most famous people out there. He was successful, talented, and had everything he could ever want and he was obviously going to live to be a million years old.
I didn’t set out to use drugs because I thought they would be fun. The whole point is that I never got why everyone was badmouthing them. As I said, the pot wasn’t so bad, right?
Let’s take a moment here and get serious. This is why it is important to talk to your kids honestly guys. Discuss things with them, let them ask questions. And most important of all, don’t get mad at them for being curious. It would have cleared a lot of things up for me if my parents had just told me exactly how drugs can change your brain and take over your life.
Okay, serious moment over.
Here I was, a young eighteen-year-old with hair that was way too long and clothing that had way too many holes, trying to get big with music. You see where this is going, don’t you?
Bright eyed and bushy tailed I got together a band, and we started making music. Our gigs were small at first. We started out playing covers. Had to do that to make a name for ourselves. We played at block parties or on the beach, events with hundreds of people in a tourist town. It was pretty fun and a great way to get exposure.
My bandmates were cool. Tash was on drums, and she was wild, always flipping her sticks and screaming into her mike. She had that good energy, you know? Joel was on bass, and that man was a genius, he could find a groove even in the most nonsensical of songs. Tara was on the keyboard, and she played as her life depended on it.
We were a band the way they show you on television. It was like a cult almost we were all so close. When we finally started playing at gigs and gaining a following, there was that electric energy I’d so craved. We were still young, not even old enough to drink, but people were buying us beers and telling us how talented we were. This could only lead to ruin.