My Dad's Drinking Problem example essay topic

"She sure takes after her dad!" Parents usually hear comments like this from friends and family. Children are mirrors of their parents in so many ways. They do what they see... what their parents do. When it comes to alcohol and drugs, a parent's actions directly influences what their children learn.

While many children suffer negative consequences due to parental alcoholism, there are some children of alcoholics that function well and do not develop serious problems. I remember him often with a drink, but I was too young to know him as an alcoholic. To me, he was just my Dad. During a commercial break, a public service announcement flashed across the television screen: "Twenty questions to determine if you are an alcoholic".

A minute later I rushed to the living room where my dad was sitting with a can of beer. I yelled, "Daddy! You " re an alcoholic! You do seven out of the twenty things, and you only need three to pass!" My Dad looked at me and said, "Do we live in a nice house?" We did. "Do I not make enough money to support the family?" He did.

I thought to myself, alcoholics live in cardboard boxes and beg for a living and therefore the television must be wrong. Every night Dad would come home, tense from his day at work. He would walk over to the refrigerator and reach out for a can of Budweiser. Even before he opened it, I could see him begin to relax.

Dad was a daily drinker. After work, he would have a couple of drinks. It was his way of relieving all his stress and problems. Sometimes he would drink a little too much as to start yelling. He would scream and tell us how we do nothing around the house. He would yell that we are not worth anything, and that we were just a waste of time and money.

My mom once confronted him, telling him about his drinking problems. He got really angry and left for a whole day. The next day, he came back with gifts and was acting all nice. My mom forgets everything and everything is back to normal again. Then it starts again. He gets drunk and does this whole routine again.

After my grandfather's death, my dad's drinking got worse. He began to take weeks off from work and spent his day drinking and sleeping. Our house reeked with the smell of alcohol. There were cans of beer lying on the table. When he ran out of beer, he would drive drunk to the store to buy more. There was no way to stop him from going.

I was so afraid that he would get into an accident, but there was nothing I could do but pray. I tried my best to make him stop drinking. My brother, he could care less. When my dad was drunk, he would just hide in his room with his loud music while me and my mom had to take this. He started hanging out with the wrong people and began using drugs to get rid of the pain he felt.

Every night he went out partying and did not come home until early the next morning. When he was not partying, he was sleeping. His drug use got so bad that he started stealing from family to satisfy his strong cravings. He used drug to forget all his problems just like my dad except his source of relief was alcohol.

I felt like I could not help my brother either. Like my dad, he does not listen to anyone. My mom knew about my brother's drug problem but she could not tell my dad because he might go on a drinking binge again. He got into numerous arguments and even fist fights with my dad.

He was kicked out plenty of times but came back apologizing. As of now, he is living on his own. With no job and no place to live, he is staying at the homeless shelter. Blaming it all on my dad, he feels better about himself. When I was younger, I knew he worked hard, and drank to help him relieve his stress.

However, as I got older, his drinking problem got worse, and I began to realize that he had no right to put all of his problems on us. Because he was my dad, I worried about him. At the same time, I hated him. It felt like I was being the adult when he should be the one. I had no one to confide in and felt isolated.

I was desperate for love and attention, anxious for approval. I tried to earn approval and friendship by doing favors for others, and allowed myself to be used. I settled for inferior relationships because I felt like I did not deserve to have quality people in my life. However, I now realize that I do not have to look at my dad's illness as a negative but a positive. I decided to make the best of my life. I studied hard in high school despite everything that was going on at home.

I graduated and attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I am majoring in nursing hoping to be a nurse some day. I want to make something of my life. I will not let my father ruin my life like it has ruined my brother's. This way of thinking will help in the long run. I will be the first in my family to graduate from college.

I will have a good paying job, and start a family some day. My dad's drinking problem did affect me and my brother a lot. It affected my brother negatively while it affected me positively. I am glad that he is an alcoholic because it encouraged me to be the best I can be..