1. Daniel Davis
Reflection Paper
Drug Awareness
July 31, 2016
The Meeting
On July 31, 2016 at noon I attended an alcoholic anonymous meeting at The
House in Toledo, Ohio. Going into this event I was very anxious about how I would
be received and how it would all play out. I didn’t want the people there to feel like I
was using them and making fun of there recovery so I went in very humble and
ready to learn. I was told that the goal of the meeting was not to just immediately
become well, get over your addiction and move on with your life, the point of the
meeting is that yes those people are dealing with an addiction but the group is
meant to be a huge support factor in overcoming the addiction. So in due time the
person can feel comfortable enough to want to begin the fight of there addiction and
begin living a better life. I felt mixed emotions while in the meeting. A part of me felt
terrible for these people for being in the situations they were in because as I listened
I began to realize that there are so many factors that go into someone getting to that
point of there life, from a death in the family, to divorce, to losing a job, to even good
things that were just lived in the moment for too long and became a habit. The other
part of me felt proud for these people. These are people that have taken all the
punches of life, been knocked to the floor, and are choosing to stand up and fight

2. back. They are done running from their problems and want to make their life better
for their wife or husband, or their newborn child or even just for themselves. I also
realized that you may be able to overcome your addiction for a long time and began
to relapse and need to come back to the group and start over. The group is a
judgment free zone. There was a man that was back for his 4th cycle and the group
didn’t judge him, they loved him and praised him for continuing to come back
because they all know how hard it is to overcome. I believe that these meetings are
very effective and needed around the world. If I were going to medical school I
would need a doctor, someone who has been through what I’m going through and
has knowledge on the life, to help. So with that being said, as an alcoholic, having
people that have been through already and know what it takes to get out of the
addiction is key. Having a sponsor that can just check up on you to see how your day
is going is so huge to the process. I can’t see any where the meeting can be improved
because I’m not an addict and I’ve never been through something like that to know
how or if it needs to be better, but I do know by the vibe that I received from the
people there that it is helping people take there lives back and there is nothing
better than that.
In closing, being at this meeting today was very eye opening. Seeing people
talk about how hard it is to even go through one day without a drink hurts to hear
but I am strengthen with knowing these people are trying, they no different from
you and me. Yes, I used to judge these people but after today, I never will again.