Lucky for me the date is 2007, because trust me when I say I would not have written these words, and you would not be reading them, if it was 2006 or prior. Why? Well, many times–at least many times that I can actually recall in my past feeble attempts at college–whenever a final paper was due, or any type of final project was assigned, I would just quit the class. Some might call it just plain old laziness and back then I probably would have agreed. Now, though, looking back, I think it had more to do with my being afraid of not just failing, but scared of actually doing something to get ahead. That’s how I lived almost my entire adulthood; it seemed I would deliberately do things to derail any progress in my life. The problem with that, however, is that I may have thought for a time I was only hurting myself but now I realize I was also hurting all the people who loved and cared about me as well. Using various sociological concepts and theories, in this essay I explore the reasons for my self-destructive behavior of substance abuse while growing up, and explain how I have sought to exit the path in favor of more fulfilling educational and career plans.