How a Twelve Step Campus Indirectly Changed My Life

While going to college I have seen first hand how a 12 step campus can affect an individual. I myself am not an addict to drugs or alcohol, but I do have family and friends who fall into those labels. One very close friend of mine began attending a twelve step programon campus 90 days ago and the results have been incredible. She has taken that courageous first step of admission, and surrendered her pride to a higher power and a group of supporters. By doing so, she is able to stay in control one day at a time. The 12 step campus she is a member of makes her feel able to stand tall in difficult situations where her addiction could normally get the better of her. Within three months she has improved her positive energy, her healthy habits and most of all, her enjoyment of life. She writes in her journal every evening after doing her homework and before going to sleep, about the journey she accomplished that day. She calls her sponsor at 7 a.m. every morning before class to talk about her plan for the day. The amount of resolve she has to this 12 step program is admirable and makes me question what I’m missing out on. I claim no dangerous habits of my own, but is that entirely accurate?

Her newfound pattern of life has brought me to question my own choices while living on campus. I started to think that there may be an habit or two in my life that could use some maintenance. I decided to do some research. What I found surprised There is literally a twelve step program on my campus for just about everything! From online gaming to workaholics! And if there isn’t one, then surely it could be brought up with the campus administration and arranged. I have yet to figure out which program would be right for me. I think sometimes it may be an anger management program, or procrastinators anonymous. If there is a 12 step program for manic depressiveness, that would certainly be my group. It makes me wonder though, if a bunch of us manic depressives gather twelve times a month in the same place, would their cycles align? I can see it now. One month everyone in the room is ready to lay down and die, and then next week we decide to throw a party with a banner that says, “WooHoo!!!” I don’t know. There are certainly things that I can improve on, and maybe I need some sort of intervention to find out what they are. I suppose that if the problem is big enough, it will find me. But until then I continue to be inspired from watching my best friend improve her life one day at a time.

But as well as making me question my own habits, her new ways have affected me in the same beneficial manner as they have her. Because she is not only my friend, but my soon to be fiancé, and my roommate, her lifestyle has a profound effect on my own and we tend to mirror each other’s habits. In this case, because her lifestyle has changed for the positive and I am entirely supportive, I no longer eat as much. All said and done, I have an enormous respect for my campus for providing anonymous groups for students to help people gain control over the things they do not have the strength to overcome alone. I have seen first hand the light that can shine as a result.