I have been given so many unbelievable opportunities in the past three and a half years, and every one of them has been related to my sobriety in one way or another. My life itself is pretty much one big example of this: my scholarship, my family life, my friends and the people I love most in my life are all a result of my sobriety. I can say with complete confidence that if I didn’t have my sobriety I wouldn’t have any of these things.
Today I had one of those opportunities. I was asked to be on a show called T4, which is basically a new talk show coming out that is going to be talking about different things that teenagers face in our wild and crazy world. So I was able to go onto a set and tell a bit of my story and further spread the message of Not My Kid!
I am very lucky to be involved in an organization like Not My Kid. The message that we have is an important one and I definitely consider myself lucky to be able to have all of the opportunities to spread this message. Keep an eye out for the new show, it’s supposed to air on channel 9 starting April 4th! The website gives a pretty good explanation of what it’s all about, http://www.t4talkshow.com/
Keep Livin’ the Dream!
Patrick

I wrote a blog at the very beginning of the year, although I don’t think that it was put on the website. To sum it up, I wrote about hanging out and having a great time with someone who happened to be an active heroine addict. We went on a one day road trip to Jerome and Sedona. We talked about anything and everything. I had a wonderful time with him and I helped him in ways that I didn’t even realize I helped him. Well, I have talked to him a few times since then, but we have not had enough time to hang out. Since it was spring break I thought I would go on a little road trip with some of my friends. I invited him. Long story short I ended up not being able to go where I intended because it was too far away. When I told him he told me that was okay because he was checking himself into rehab. YAY! I was so excited to hear that. It really made me happy to know that he was taking the correct steps into bettering his future. He is an individual who uses drugs to escape reality because he was incapable of living in it. He must have come to a grand realization about life and decided to make the decision to clean up his act. I was so happy for him. I told him that I would be his support and that if he needed anything, I would be there for him. He did admit to being very afraid, but I assured him that he would be fine. That is an awesome experience to me. He came to a point in his life where he realized heroine was not the only answer to the distresses he went through in life. He is an incredibly talented artist and I hope that this will give him a chance to explore his artistic side even more than he already has. I played NO role in him making this decision, but I will say that it is a wonderful feeling knowing that there is someone out there making a mature responsible decision and that he is making a sound on as well. He is going to attempt life as a responsible adult rather than wasting it away as a loser drug addict. I admire him for what may seem as a mild gesture, but is really a rather large and life changing one. Anyone who makes the decision to clean their act up in any part of their lives is someone to admire and look up to. It is not easy, but the end result is what makes it worth it.

Coming from a big family affects every single aspect of my life, everyday. Sometimes, it means that my life is crazy and hectic because there are so many people, so many birthdays and so many things to do! But other times it can be soooo unbelievably beneficial. Like when I really need someone to talk to, or when I can’t figure out why one sibling is acting a certain way, there are always other siblings to go to. It is also awesome because older brothers and sisters can hook a brother up! For example, at the beginning of this month I was given the opportunity to travel down to the Riviera Maya, which is down in Cancun, Mexico with my older sister Clare, her husband Justin and their daughter (my beautiful niece) Elizabeth.
How sweet is that? I mean really, I was given an opportunity to travel, relax and have some serious bonding time with my family. During my trip I got to do some sweeeeeeeet stuff. To me, the best part was fulfilling one of my life long dreams to breathe under water. Now if you have heard my story you may know that I LOVE swimming, I have swam my whole life competitively and just for fun. Water is the most soothing thing to me, and when I am in it, I feel like I am in my element. I am truly most comfortable while I am in the water. So how did I pull it off? How did I breathe under water? I went scuba diving! It was AWESOME!!!
The reason I bring this up is because it was one of the first times in my life where I felt completely at home, at peace and in tune with my surroundings. There was nothing to trip on, no one to embarrass myself in front of, and no pressure to do anything but breathe in and out and enjoy my wonderful surroundings!!!!
Keep livin’ the dream,
Patrick