Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
It was the kind of thing that my friends did. They seemed to smoke a lot. It seems stupid
in hindsight. I never really cared what my friends did but, you know, it was just a way
of doing something else with them. And it was the same way with the culture of where
we were, what we were doing. All the guys would go out and take a break at the same
time. You’d smoke your cigarette. I didn't want to be the guy standing there, you know,
with my hands in my pockets being the outsider so, you know, I just started smoking a little
bit here and there and eventually it just kind of snowballed and finally, you know,
just became part of my routine. Quitting was pretty tough for me. I mean, I would try over
and over. I would get maybe 2 weeks, maybe a month, maybe 6 weeks. I would get past the
actual physical craving that I had and I realized that it was just a mental craving that I had
and it was a mental roadblock that I had to get through and realize that I'm no longer
physically—I no longer physically need this stuff. It's just a mental thing that I need
to get through and I was able to do that. I was mentally strong enough that I could
come to the realization that it's not something that I need, and that was the big thing for
me. My father just wondered why I didn't quit sooner. I don't think he realized how hard
it was on me, but now that I actually have done it and followed through on something
I said I was going to do, you know, you can tell that he's proud of me for following through
on a commitment of mine and sticking to it. And it's the same way through my whole family.
I think they're more proud of me for the commitment I made and just the way I can get through
it than anything.