Teenage Alcoholic

I got up around 7 am on a bright and sunny summer morning and was excited to greet the day. This was the day I was going to interview for a new summer job. I had been working at the local bowling alley for the past year and now I had a new challenge. I was 15 years old and was ready to head to downtown Washington DC where I would interview for a bus boy job at a prestigious private club. I planned my bus route perfectly to insure I would arrive in plenty of time for my 11 AM appointment.

Once I walked into the club, I was in awe and intimidated by the opulence. The long shiny marble hallways and the huge chandeliers made me think, I do not belong in this place. Soon, I was greeted by a very nice gentleman whom as I remember was around 40 years old and was Black like me. He told me he was the manager of the club and was going to take me on a tour.

As we made it around the club I was amazed at the quiet and impressed with the indication of prestige. I knew that this would be a cool place to work. And then, in a split second, something happened. I was changed forever. The last stop on the tour was inside the huge kitchen of the club. My eyes became much wider than normal as my shy body slowly followed this man. I peaked my head around to the left of the kitchen door and BOOM! there it was, a huge kitchen in full force with pans clanging and pots cooking. It was like something out of a movie. The man looked at me as he could see I was frozen in my tracks. He asked why I was so intrigued. I had no answer for him.

He took me further into the kitchen and introduced me to all of the line cooks. All the cooks were Black as well and in their mid twenties. They were all happy and chatting as if this was not even close to being a job for them. I was hooked, I was convinced that this was the life for me. As we finished our tour of the kitchen and we were walking out the swinging doors, I glanced back one more time catching a glimpse of the lead cook drinking a beer. It was at that exact moment that I knew that I wanted to become a chef. The excitement, the laughter and the ability to drink while at work were all I could ask for in a job.

The bus ride home was a whirlwind of thoughts about how I wanted to be one of those cooks. I couldn't get the fact that they were allowed to drink at work, out of my head. That was the day I became addicted. Alcoholism is a disease, it kills millions each and every year. On that day, I activated my alcoholic gene. Even though I had not become a full blown drinker yet, my mind was already drunk with the thought. I could not get the drinking image out of my head. The next 30 years of my life as a chef have been all but normal. I am blessed to still be alive to write about my journey. I have learned that when we go back to seek and to find the truth about ourselves, we can then begin to heal and become all God wants us to be. The choice is within.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6726409