Generally, people always approach point in their lives where they are at a constant struggle, trying to reach the top of a mountain, yet no matter how high they climb, they still feel like they are stuck at the bottom. My biggest, most complicated mountain so far would have to be my father’s former alcohol problem.

The chaos started at a young age for me. I had no worries in the world, and I was blind to all the trouble alcohol brought to my family. I never knew when things were going wrong because everything seemed like a fun roller coaster to me until the day my mom and I came home from my grandparents’ house. My neighbors from down the street met us in our driveway. They began to slowly tell my mother and I that they found my father face down in the lake as still as a rock, just floating. He had gone jet skiing while under the influence of alcohol. Tears filled my eyes as I looked into the sky just to see a big orange helicopter take my father away to the hospital. Nervousness and disappointment could be seen all over my mother and I’s faces. From that day on, my outlook on everything changed.

My father spent a week in the hospital regaining strength and good health before he finally returned home. One would think that after such a scary experience my father would choose to change for the better, but sadly, that was not the case. He began to drink on and off throughout many years, sending our family on an awfully bumpy and emotional ride. All of his bad choices affected me majorly including my grades and the way I performed in sports. My father’s alcohol problem had become a negative shadow that followed me everywhere.

  Now some may think that a girl who grew up with an alcoholic father would be “messed up” or at least following in his footsteps. Well I decided I did not want to be that girl. Instead I have grown to become an intelligent and driven student who holds a spot in the top 10% of her class. I have also successfully been inducted into the National Honor Society and have been granted the privilege of team captain for my varsity soccer team. I could not allow this negative shadow to defeat me.

Overall, although treacherous and frustrating, I made it to the top of my mountain. I am no longer a victim to the complications. I am, and will continue to be, successful.