Personal Experience - Assignment Example

Personal experience High school is a good place that one should desire to go, however if not does not conduct him or herself well, it can leave a painful memorable mark in one’s life that one will struggle to erase. This is a life experience about how I started smoking, the effects it had and how I managed to overcome it.
The first day I was enrolled in high school was a joyful one. It was a day to make new friends and get a new experience of freedom that home has never endowed me with. The first person I met was Kelvin and this was one of the best opportunities ever. He was compatible in all ways, most importantly he liked swimming, which being the best sporting activity I liked and this strengthened the social bond more. After a couple of months later, I came to realize some concealed behaviors of Kelvin; he was a smoker. Though it was very hard to believe, living with that reality was the only option as ending the friendship would have consequence which I was not well prepared to handle.
When I questioned him about the behavior, he alleged that smoking stimulated one’s brain giving one the capabilities to quickly understand, while reading, and this was the sole reason why he joyed in smoking. His explanation was a great influence towards tempting me to venture into the world of smoking. Honestly, Kelvin was among the top performers in class yet his class attendance was very poor. According to him, he would smoke just before going to sit for an examination. His reasons were convincing enough and within the first week, had got into the habit of smoking. It is now two years since I started smoking. Kelvin had to quit school and was taken to a rehabilitation center for smoking took a larger portion of his life.
Many are the times I had endeavored quitting this disgusting habit to no avail. Within a period of six months, I had made two attempts to quit but to no success. However, every moment I made that attempt, the side effects of severe headache and lack of sleep made me go back to smoking again. Skipping lessons was the order of the day. Remember, in high school, one is very limited in the activities one does, especially morally wrong behaviors. This affected my performance as opposed to initial mindset that smoking made one’s sharp enabling them pass examination.
Teacher and parents became concerned of the performance and questioned me. However, being cleaver, I would hide everything from them. This didn’t last for long; I had to look for a permanent solution that would enable me quickly stops smoking. A friend advised me to buy Buprorion, a drug believed to help smokers quit smoking (Sloan and Kerry, 5). I tried using the meds for a few months but there was no change. Later, I came to realizes that those were meds given to soldiers as anti-depressants. However, I came to realize later that for it to be effective and enable one stop smoking, one had to be under proper medication.
During the winter holidays, I had to seek assistance from friend doctor who worked in a rehabilitation firm. Luckily enough, addiction to it had not taken deep root enough. The doctor proposed one month intensive medication care and with regular visiting. Change of lifestyle was also important when one is in the process of quitting. I had to avoid places where people smoked a lot until the day the doctor confirmed to me that I was strong enough to go to such places.
Back at home, it was not easy. Parents had to put me under curfew. I was expected to stay at home the extent to which I used to interact with friends reduced. Having no place to go, I spent a lot of time home just watching movies and series. Smoking eats on one’s health, as a result, I was put under heavy diet so as to regain weight. Personally, I embarked on activities like washing dishes and update my blog on the consequences of smoking. The point is I had to do everything to change. Daily activities, like running up and down the stairs really helped in the process of quitting.
I am now back to school and doing well in class. It took me two weeks of intensive medication and daily exercise to stop smoking and three week for the side effects to subdue.
Works Cited
Sloan Frank A., and V. Kerry Smith. The smoking puzzle: information, risk perception, and choice. New York: Harvard University Press, (2003). Read More