Mommy Where Are You? Mommy where are you is often what I thought growing up. Addiction played a significant role in my upbringing. My mother would leave my siblings and me home alone for days to weeks. This happened when I was in late elementary school and early middle school. Despite the challenges, I made sure to go to school every day and never missed a class because my education was important to me. Through education I not only broke the generational curse but helped her too. Addiction shaped my life. I am now majoring in social work wanting to work with families and Individuals that are struggling with mental health and addiction because I understand the impact addiction has on the family or even friends as a whole. The dark side of addiction is when I was younger and my mother engaged in drugs my brothers and I endured a lot of pain from her anger and mistrust of others from paranoia that was caused by the drugs. Addiction also played a pivotal point in my life. Although I never did drugs although my mom did while pregnant with me. I was born at two pounds even and very sick because of the drug usage. I felt like I had to fight for my life since birth quite literally. After I was born because my mom was so focused on the next hit or the next drug she would bring into our lives unknown people and often these people abused me and molested me, but because my mom was so high all the time she did not notice or know what was happening to her child. I am committed to breaking the cycle of addiction by educating myself and my loved ones. My mom has been clean for ten years now, and she often expresses her gratitude to me for helping her through her addiction. Through my ongoing education and learning, I have been able to help my mom find healthier ways to cope with trauma and mental illness instead of turning to drugs. Additionally, I am focused on breaking the cycle of generational trauma by attending therapy twice a week for my own healing. Generational trauma through addiction still plays a rapid role in my life. I lost my brother not physically but spiritually due to his suffering of addiction. My family and I tried everything we can to help but unfortunately he needs healing himself from trauma and mental health struggles it may take time but I will be available for when he is ready. Addiction is scary and it takes on a life of its own. I feel like I lost my family and my upbringing due to drugs but through education and residency I will continue to break this curse.