autobiography for Substance abuse coucilor course., page 1

Hello all,

This is a structured autobiography I had to put together for a course to become a substance abuse councilor. Admittedly it was was kind of difficult. And since it was for a govt. program, I may have left out some details. But it was definitely an exercise in self reflection.

Fell free to add your own or comment on mine. I look forward to criticism.

Childhood.
I was born on December 8, 1982 in Los Angeles County Ca.
The earliest thing I can remember is sitting in a doorway looking at some lady I cannot identify; I suspect this is when I still lived in California.
I am a mix of Italian and Irish, generalized as American caucasian. I was raised by my biological mother and father until they divorced around 1988, then by my mother and step-father from that point on.
My father was in the Army and my mother was a retail manager. My step-father drove a truck delivering furniture and windows. I would describe them as regular American middle class. My parents argued a lot, my father drank a lot. They divorced when I was about 6 years old; my father visited us once or twice then moved to Minnesota. My mother moved us in with my step-father shortly after the separation. They seemed to get along just fine.
I have a younger brother an older half-brother, a step-brother and step-sister. We all got along pretty well when we were children.
2. Adolescence.

a. As a teenager I got in my share of trouble, but nothing too serious. I had a steady job from the time I was 14. When I was around 16 I made a deal with my parents that I would help out with the bills and in return I would pretty much do whatever I wanted as long as the police didn’t come knocking on the door.

b. I was overweight in high school, but I played football and lifted weights regularly, I didn’t see it as an issue. I began drinking and smoking cigarettes when I was twelve years old. I quickly developed a 2 pack a day habit, and would usually drink a 40oz bottle of malt liquor on Friday and Saturday. Other drugs were used, but I refused to touch crack or heroine, and nothing was used more than occasionally.

c. I generally got along well with everyone. I spent most of my time with the “rock and roll” crowd, but I also played football so I would hang out with the “Jock” group sometimes. I got good grades when I had the time to go to school, and would occasionally go out with the “nerds”. I was cool with the “thugs” as well. I did pretty well with females in high school. Though nothing lasted more than a few months, I can’t think of anyone I wouldn’t stop to talk to if I ran into them today.

3.Adulthood.

a. I have never been married, am currently single, and have no children.

b. I get along with my mother and stepfather just fine. My father died when I was 16, but I hadn’t seen or heard from him since I was 6, so he was just some guy I vaguely remembered who I wouldn’t see again. I call my parents once a week, and see them once or twice a year.

c. I don’t speak to my younger brother or my older half-brother. Both have 3 children with 3 different women, that I know of. Both have been arrested multiple times for not paying child support, among many other things. The younger one was most recently “laid off” from 7-11. The older one used to be a carnival ride operator (Carney), and is currently a Meth addict. I haven’t spoken to either of them in about ten years. My step-brother is good to go, I see him regularly. We get along fine. My step-sister is also cool, but I don’t see her very often.

4. Additional Information
a. The worst thing that ever happened to me was being removed from my previous MOS of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician. The best thing that ever happened to me was joining the Marine Corps.

b. My greatest strength is my ability to remain calm in very stressful situations, it allows me to remain objective and make sound decisions. My greatest weakness is my need to be involved in everything, it frequently leads me to working to the point of exhaustion and leaves little time for a personal life.

c. When I was a young LCpl I had an alcohol problem. I couldn’t get to sleep unless I had drunk a 20 pack of beer or a 5th of some liquor. This went on for about six months. I had a Staff Sergeant who one morning pulled a breathalyzer out of his pocket and tested me. I blew a .17 at 0500, I was 19 years old. I was never late, and my work was beyond reproach. But I realized that this had the potential to get out of hand. My problem was pointed out to me and I was given the opportunity to correct it on my own before it became something out of control. I was able to address the situation without any adverse effects on my career.
The harshest thing I can think of, is that I was told recently that I did not have the authority to make decisions on my own. As someone who doesn’t believe that a piece of paper is evidence of intelligence, I found this statement highly offensive, and assured the individual that they should expect to be angry with me many more times in the future.

d. The most important thing that people should know about me, is that I am loyal to a fault, and am willing to sacrifice myself for the wellbeing of the marines under my charge. I have received adverse fitness reports as a result of making sure my Marines had what they needed to accomplish their mission.

e. I am a firm believer in the philosophy that your body does what you tell it to do and not the other way around. The human body is an amazing machine and is capable of astounding feats, but with that being said, it is only as good as the fuel you provide it. As such I do not eat any type of junk food. The closest thing to junk that I consume is large quantities of coffee. No sweets, candy, cakes, chips, soda, fast food, or anything that goes in a microwave. As a health nut, I try to achieve balance. I smoke (or used to, 2 packs a day), and drink about 2 pots of coffee a day, and I still consume alcohol 2-3 days a week. So I think this creates a balance between my unreasonable PT regimen and my policy of no junk food.

f. The most important thing to me is to not take anything so seriously as to exclude life as a whole outside of the day to day grind of the marine Corps. I realize that I am failing at this since I consistently find myself working 20 hour days. But I am aware of it, and identifying a problem is the first step of solving it.

g. I joined the Marine Corps. Because I am the sixth generation of Marines in my family. It was never really a question. Everyone pretty much identified me early on as the next Marine in the family and I kind of just took to it once I learned what the Marines represented to this country. My grandfather served in Korea, his father in WWII his father in WWI his father in the Banana wars, and so on.

h. When I was a little kid I wanted to be a garbage man so I could ride on the back of a garbage truck. Then I wanted to be an entomologist, then a Marine. Now I would like to go to school and become a theoretical physicist.