Lately I've been seeing more and more of my childhood friends around. Everywhere I look, one's in jail, one's dead, one's dealing. MOst of them moved away a few years ago, I'm so glad they did. You can read the below thread about walmart and know that even the company I keep now isnt the best in the world, but at least the majority of my friends arent criminals. One of my friends stopped by where I work today to catch up and he was stoned...like really stoned. He dropped out of high school and now he's a bus boy, he's going no where. My old best friend that moved to NY just got put in jail for 3 years, a few counts of B&E and larsen. Even just now, my childhood friend, my best friend from ages 8-12, showed up wanting to catch up and ride around with his sister. I walked out to the car and she was freaking out cause she spilled their tin of coke in the floorboard of the car. Really, what happened? All the people that I have so many great memories with are ending up in society's s**t hole. For so long, I've missed my friends, but when I finally get ahold of them again, they arent the same person. I know everyone has to cope with some friends being consumed with vices and problems of some sort, but it seems like everyone I grew up with is just turning for the worst. It just makes me sit back and think that even if I feel like crap, it can always be worse, and that I have actually turned out to be a good, honest person. Anyhow, just a little venting and whatnot..

 

yeah thats just life man, people go the wrong way and they go the right way. just be glad you arnt the one making bad decisions and ruining your life

 

---gratitude is a good thing, it's hard to watch the people you care and think about struggle

 

In times like these you have one of two choices, keep these friends, and try to get them out of the life the have chosen, or realize that the first option will never happen and move on. It is a tough decision but one that you need to make. Hell I wouldn't hang out with friends like that. There are better things in life to enjoy then drugs. and i would much rather make my money the honest hard way, then the "easy" quick way. But i know what you mean, same thing happened to me through when i was in high school. But not to that extent

 

I think most people go through that, everyone takes their own paths in life, some are good and some are bad, the best thing to do is surround yourself with good people.

 

Well you and your friends are apparently at that age where you all are most likely to be involved in crime+drugs.

Just cuz a person does drugs doesn't automatically make them a bad person, maybe you should just think twice about trusting them until they clean up some. But in my experience some of the smartest most responsible people I know smoke a little ganja fairly often... Watch out for coke/crack/meth headz tho, thats a pretty quick ride to the bottom from what I have personally experienced with my friends...

I've actually gone through it myself, I'm a recovering alcoholic. And it is a very personal journey some of us must face. Be careful about just cutting them off tho, they might be coming to see you so they can get away from it for a while.Or maybeseeing that you aren't a user and you're okay could have a good effect on them. But that being said; if a person is on a downward slide, NO ONE can help them until they are ready to help themselves.

But there is absolutely nothing wrong with telling a person that if they want to hang out with you (especially while you are at work), that they can't show up while they are on drugs or in the possesion of drugs!

If they ask you for help tell them to go to AA/NA first and find a sponsor, or if you care about them enough, buy them a copy of the AA or NA handbook. That is one of the best things you can do for them if they are ready for help.

 

thats life, i grew up with friends that are nothing but at the bottom of society now, dealing with drugs, gangs , violence all that bs, best u can do is just follow ur own motives, keep good ethics and morals and surround urself with positive ppl, itll turn out for da best

 

word just keep yourself goin the way u need to go if u have time and or patience to deal with old friends then do it..

 

I'm not in my room feeling sorry for myself cause all my old friends changed so much or anyhing...its just a little awe inspiring as to how distance and surroundings can change a person. Actually, since I saw how all this turned out..I'm making some plans for semi-near future to just kinda find my own way. Me and a couple of my friends are planning to get rental house together in Panama City to get away from a lot of this crap. All three of us are gonig through similar bs and we just decided we can all help each other start fresh.Its only 30 minutes away from where we all live now so we wont be shunned from our friends and family or anything, just away from the people we dont want to associate with any more

 

Well man people make choices in life and those choices choose their path. Coming from a person that is in constant battle with my own addictions, problems with seeing those around him die or change so much that you dont even care about them anymore, and just struggles with life in general. I look at it as a cause and affect merry-go-round, These people in your life(mine also) have caused their life to end up where it is and ultimately they are the only ones that can change it. The affect part is as you can see it affects their life dramaticly, affects yours, and everyone else around them. It sucks to say this and feel this way but for the most part, in regaurds to their situation, you kinda have to just sit back and watch and hope for the best.