What was the stupidest thing you’ve ever done when you were a teenager?
Umm… I never experimented with drugs or anything but there was this one time when I was fifteen. I was going through this phase where I really wanted to assert my independence. I wasn’t openly rebellious but I resented parental figures and authority. I thought I could take care of myself, you know? One weekend, my parents left to visit my sick uncle so I was alone for a night. Finally, there’s no one smothering me and I could do whatever the hell I wanted. It was my first real taste of freedom….. and I completely wasted it.
I started drinking on occasion when I was around twelve. One of my friends had an older brother in college so we had easy access to alcohol. So on my first night alone, I went to my friend’s booze party- it was a guy’s night. I was celebrating (or so I thought back then, perhaps I was really commiserating) my break-up from my first serious girlfriend.
I don’t really remember what we did that night: mostly the guys were congratulating me for being a “free man” again and we played video games until we got too drunk. Maybe it was the break-up, or maybe it was because I was feeling defiant, but I drank a lot more than usual. Around midnight, or a bit after, I decided to go home. My friend offered to let me stay the night but I was like “nah, I’m good”.
I lived pretty close. The thing was, I was so far gone I couldn’t even walk straight. I didn’t even know where I was going. I think threw up once or twice on the sidewalk. At one point, I must’ve fallen because I remember lying against some wall. And then this stranger, it was a woman, pulled me up. She asked me my age and I was so stupid I didn’t even lie. I can’t remember what she looked like but she was soft and she had this…. motherly feeling. Maybe that’s why I let her take me to her car. I didn’t even try to resist. If she’d been a criminal or a police officer I would’ve been so screwed.
She asked me where I lived. Actually, she had to ask several times before I could answer. The next few minutes or hours were a blur as I drooled in her car. Eventually we ended up in the driveway of my house. She made sure I was safely in my house before driving off. I didn’t even thank her. I don’t remember much of what happened once I was home. I felt really dizzy and tired but I was so drunk I couldn’t even climb up the stairs. The next afternoon my parents found me passed out at the foot of the staircase. Yeah. I was on house arrest for three months after that.
It was a very humbling experience. Brought me back to my senses. In the end, I still needed someone to look after me. I obviously wasn’t ready for freedom. Because freedom comes with a price I wasn’t ready to pay at the time.
What price?
Responsibility.
