1. NickCalvin
A Story Worth Sharing – Noah.
My brotherisan alcoholicandan addict. Atthe age of fifteen,while otherpeoplehisage were tryingoutfor
sportsteamsand gettingtheirdriver’spermits,Noah,mybrother,wasseverelydepressedandterribly alone.Withthe
helpof some people mybrother consideredfriends,Noahquicklylearnedtofind comfortat the bottomof a whiskey
bottle. However,asanyone whohaswitnessed,first-hand,the effects of alcohol abuse canattest,the comfortNoah
foundwithwhiskeywastemporary—asuperficial andshort-termbandagetoa deep-seatedpsychological wound.The
onlythingalcohol did forNoah was exacerbate hissuffering.The more he drank,the more rapidly his“comfort”
transformed intospurtsof numbnessandblind anger.Witheverybottle,the more he fell apart,livingouthishigh
school yearsina blurof alcohol-fueledrage anddespair.Now, Iwouldbe lyingif Isaidthat I wasa goodbrotherthough
all of this.Ihave neveraskedNoahwhyhe feltthe wayhe did,whyhe neededto be numb.Ihave neveraskedNoahthe
source of hispain. To be honest, Ihave neveraskedthose questionsbecause Ithinkthat,deepdowninside,I have
alwaysfeltresponsible,like Iwasa factor in,or worse,asource of hissuffering.Ifeltthat,somehow,Icausedhispain.
So, fearingthat wasthe case, I unplugged.Iremovedmyself fromthe equation. Noah’sdrinkingwasacry for helpand
insteadof comingto hisaid,insteadof showinghimthe love thathe was screamingforwithwhiskey-stainedbreath,I,
hisbigbrother,justsat there and feltsorryformyself.Iweptoverbruises, blackeyes,stolencars, andruinedfamily
holidays;Iwasfocusedonmy owntemporarypain.Meanwhile, Noah’slife wasshattering topieces. However, without
the supportof hisbigbrother,and feeling,Iimagine,likehe hadhitrock bottom, Noah finally made the decisiontoget
back on track. He wentto rehaband begananew;he startedover.But as he wentthroughthat process,as he beganto
turn hislife around,I still managedtokeep mydistance,because the whole situationmade me uncomfortable,because
it scaredme.My brotherdrankalcohol tonumb hispain;I simply hidfrommine.
Unfortunately,the effortstogetcleanthat Noahhad beguninrehab were swiftlyoverpowered whenhe
returnedhome and hisso-calledfriends encouragedhimtoreplace hisglass,whiskey-filledbottleswithplasticones,
packedwith pills.Despite the positivechangeshe made inhislife andthe groundhe wasgaininginhisbattle against
addiction,Noahstill wantedtofeelnumb.Pillsprovidedhimwiththat (lackof) sensation.He begantoslipawayagain;
thistime,though,insteadof burstingoutin rage or anger,he just stoppedfeeling.Atleast,that’swhatIhave heard. You

2. see,while Noahsuffered,Icontinuedtoremainwithdrawn.Iwasincollege andwhathappenedathome wasoutof
sight, andout of mind.When mylittle brotherdecidedtostopnumbingandstartfeeling, toface the body-aches,
weaning,andwithdrawals, whenhe decidedtoface hisaddictionandstopusing, thistime forgood,hisbigbrotherwas,
once again,nowhere insight.
I have failedNoahmore times thatIam willingtoadmit.He was in painfor solong,but I continually chose my
owntrivial suffering ratherthanputtingmyself outthere andsufferingwithhim. Of course,thisisnottosay that I would
have beenable tofix thingsfasterorthat Noahneededme atall—obviously,he didn’t.IguessIjustwishI wouldhave
beenthere tohelpalongthe waybecause Ithinkhe wouldhave done thatforme. In fact, I know he wouldhave.
Now,though, more thana decade afterthisall began,NoahandI are great.He issoberand thriving.Asforme,
well,somewherealongthe way, Idecidedtogetovermyself.Ilooked atall Noahwentthrough andall he accomplished
inspite of hisobstacles.Ilookedatthe factthat he wasable to vanquishhisaddictions,totake back hislife.Irealized
that Noahis one of the bravestpeople Iknow. He seta goal,anddespite insurmountable odds,pain,andsuffering,he
achievedit,andhe didit all withoutthe help of hisbigbrother.When Ilookat who he is now:movie geek,film score
connoisseur,musical prodigy,I cannothelpbutbe inawe of mylittle brotherandthe personhe has become.Icannot
helpbutbe amazedat hissacrifice andhis desire tosucceed.Mybrotheris muchmore than justan alcoholicandan
addict.He isproof that we don’thave to be stuck;there isalwaysa way out. I am a betterpersonbecause of hisstory.
Whenall is saidand done, IthinkI neededhimmore thanhe everneededme.