One of my older brothers struggled with substance abuse with various hard substances. I was very close to him during and after his struggles, and being so close to his personal growth and seeing his mistakes has helped me in many ways. I would see him before, sitting there in his room on his bed. He would call me in and whip out some random drug baggie to show me what he had gotten this time, he would give me a rundown on what it was and what it did, and I would leave stunned by his knowledge but disappointed. The next hour or so would depend on the substance, but most of the time would end up involving me babysitting him so as not to wake up my parents. I felt hiding this from them would be better than them finding out. I knew he was struggling mentally, but I was scared to do what I saw as "snitching." Looking back on it all, I see how it wouldn't have been snitching but instead giving him the helping hand he needed. There was one night we were playing a video game together, and he fell asleep while we were in the middle of playing together. When they finally found him in his inebriated, mumbling, and stumbling around, it devastated them. My parents were frantic and in distress seeing him like this, and not knowing how far it could go, they started arguing with him about going to the hospital to get his stomach pumped out. The following days consisted of my parents constantly monitoring him and deciding to get him the psychiatric help that he needed. Seeing how his substance abuse devastated my parents and pushed him into the darkest moments of his life has really pushed me far away from any substances. Seeing my sibling in that state was upsetting. Seeing how his state had pushed him into such a dark place and pushed the people around him into a dark place of sadness, and then seeing how hard he worked to get out of that place, has made me push drugs far away and has been a very strong motivation to stay sober. His recovery journey also showed me the importance of resilience, self-accountability, and support from loved ones. Watching him rebuild his life has inspired me to value what I have in my own life and future, and to make choices that will positively impact both me and the people around me.