Lucy was only 16 when her life took a sharp turn one summer. She was a bright, curious girl with a love for art and music. Her sketchbooks were filled with drawings of wildflowers, cityscapes, and abstract designs that only she could understand. She had a close-knit group of friends, and they spent most of their days hanging out at the local park, talking about their dreams, and listening to the latest music.
But that summer, something changed. Lucy's best friend, Sarah, introduced her to a new group of people. They were older, cooler, and lived on the edge. At first, Emily was hesitant to join in. She had heard the rumors about them—how they partied hard and played by their own rules. But Sarah assured her that it was all just harmless fun.
One evening, at a party in an abandoned shed, Lucy was offered drugs for the first time. It was a small pill, innocuous in appearance, but Lucy felt a knot of anxiety in her stomach. She watched as Sarah took one without hesitation, laughing and swaying to the music. Her heart pounded, and for a moment, she thought about leaving. But she stayed.
Peer pressure is a powerful force, especially when you're young and unsure of yourself. Lucy didn't want to be the odd one out, the girl who was too scared to try something new. So, she took the pill. It was a decision that would change her life forever.
At first, everything was euphoric. But as the night wore on, the high began to wear off, and Emily started to feel an overwhelming sense of emptiness. The days that followed were a blur.
She found herself craving that feeling of euphoria, of escape from the mundane reality of her life. She started using more frequently. Her art began to suffer. The once vibrant and intricate sketches in her sketchbook became dark and disjointed. She stopped caring about school, missing classes, and avoiding her old friends. Her parents, who had noticed the change in behaviour, and didn’t know how to reach her found that she would shut down, retreating further into herself.
She had become a shadow of the girl she once was, her dreams replaced by a never-ending cycle of highs and lows. It wasn’t until she hit rock bottom and found herself pregnant, that Emily realized she needed help. One night, after a particularly bad trip, she found herself alone in her room, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She barely recognized the person staring back at her. Tears streamed down her face as she finally admitted to herself that she was in real trouble.
With the support of her family and the help of a counselor, Lucy began the long road to recovery. It wasn’t easy. There were days when she wanted to give up, to fall back into old habits. But she pushed on, determined to reclaim her life and that of her unborn child. She was now 19 years old.
Slowly but surely, she began to heal. Her art started to come back to life, her sketches once again filled with the beauty she saw in the world. She reconnected with her family, who stood by her through her recovery. She realized that the things that seem to offer the most escape often come with the highest price. She is still healing, but she is finally on the right path, and for the first time in a long while, at 26 years old, she feels a little hopeful about the future. She soon hopes to have full time care of her daughter.
