NA Meeting paper

Before I attended the NA meeting, I had felt more than a little apprehensive; I really wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the meeting and that made me very nervous. I have talked to and listened to addicts and recovering addicts many times before, my brother is a recovering addict and a few friends are also, but that did not prepare me for the sadness, grief, and happiness I saw in this meeting. The meeting started out with the person running it starting things off, and then asked if anyone wanted to share anything.
There were about seven people in the meeting not including myself, and they all shared their stories and what was going on with them. I found their stories and life events uplifting and interesting to hear about, and I was proud of them for everything they have survived and made it through. When I think about the meeting and everything said in it, it really touches my heart how the people were able to overcome the obstacle of addiction and better themselves by kicking the habit.
I was brought to tears by one mans story, he told of how he had lost his wife and turned to drugs to numb the pain and grief, but sadly became addicted. He went on to share how he lost everything in his life before it really ‘hit’ him that he had to change something, and he entered a rehabilitation center, got off the drugs, and today was his 1,826 th day of being clean (that’s five years).

What I learned at the meeting, well really what I learned from the people who shared their journey, was more than I could ever put into words, it had such a great on me, and I am sure it will always be with me. I feel like I have somewhat learned some of the difficulties that these people have experienced in their life, I don’t mean to say I knew nothing of it before, but it is different hearing from people other than your brother. From what I heard in the meeting I really feel that I understand my brother and what he went through more clearly now.
My perceptions about drug users didn’t really change, I already knew that drug users are just normal everyday people like you or me, they just have a problem, or addiction with drugs. I know how hard it is for people to be on drugs, and to be a recovering addict. When my brother got into and was addicted to Meth, it made him a completely different person, he was always agitated, mad, didn’t work, and he became violent with little to no provocation, and it was only ever toward me.
Now that my brother is recovering and has been a recovering addict for going on three years, he has pretty much done a three-sixty; he has a steady full time job with benefits, doesn’t do drugs anymore, and has no violent tendencies. Overall, I really enjoyed and found the stories interesting, and like that I was able to really hear what they were saying and somewhat relate to what they were saying. I feel that I have learned a lot and I am very glad that I had the opportunity to go and have them share their stories with me.