Last Poster #8

[Xue Sheng]

And with that…. Goodnight MT

 

[HighKick]

I think that's the key. I need to hang out with people who aren't going to encourage me to go back to my old life. It's tough as I miss my old friends, but I can't be around that stuff because of my own history.

I can't say I was ever 'living in the gutter' but I had a Lot of friends who lived pretty rough. More than a few drug users and dealers. Heavy drinkers and more than a few who lived a sketchy, often illegal life. Some of them are my most cherished friends to this day. But I knew I had to physically separate from them if I wanted the kind of life I desired. I had conversations with several of them about this fact and without exception, they all understood.
But even that comes with ramifications I had to consider.
When I became a LEO, this separation had to intensify. I knew it would have been fairly easy to get some of my friends in real trouble. I decided to take a 'live and let live' mindset and talked several of my old friends, making it clear that as long as they did not give me any reason to go after them, I would leave them alone. And while some of them did eventually get in trouble for their own dealings, I never had to cross paths with any of them. It was sad to watch at times but also gratifying to realize I had become a better person over time, knowing that it could have been me if I had made other choices.

Growing and maturing is part of the human process. No one said it was always going to be peaches and cream though. Being honest with oneself, thinking things through to the realistic and factual end, and simply accepting them as fact makes things easier for me. No waffling or 'what-iffing' that Maybe things will be different the next time. Let's be honest, how often does it work out that way?