The Collegiate Recovery Community at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte provides a nurturing, affirming environment in which students recovering from addictive disorders can successfully pursue academic, personal and professional goals for the purpose of enhancing their quality of life and becoming productive members of society.
Register Now!! We are super excited to be able to get these amazing opportunities! Some of us here got the opportunity through Young People In Recovery to repel in Hollywood last year and now we can do it right here in Charlotte!
The Funds Raised are going to support Young People In Recovery. Being in Recovery myself I have found the younger you get clean and sober the more opportunities and chances you get at this new beautiful life! Even if going down the side of the building isn't your calling come out volunteer, bring your family and friends and meet some amazing young people!
I remember when we first made this and how nervous I was to share with such a large audience. I had spoken many times in meetings but was very fearful of having something recorded. What if I relapse? What if I don't make any since when I'm speaking? What if...what if?? What if it helps someone seek out the help they need? Helping others and doing my best each day is all I am able to do. I've been told that other people will get you drunk before you can get them sober. I'm not here to tell people they need help. I'm here to share my experience, strength and hope with anyone who is willing to stick around.
This program has come so far! We had three people just today turn in their CRC applications!! CRC Application link Last year we gave away four $1,000 scholarships!
We took a trip to the Collegiate Recovery Conference and met so many amazing people-- one of which happens to be a transfer here this semester! It is just amazing how people are put in our lives for so many reasons that we can't even fathom at the time.
All these opportunities have been freely given to us, and it still amazes me everyday that I am so blessed to be a part of this amazing program. The relationships and friendships that I have formed have made my college experience so much better. I want to be present and get involved. I know know that my recovery always comes first, and I wouldn't be able to be here if not for it. Sometimes I can lose sight of that when school gets hectic. I need my fellow students to bring be back down to earth and show me that everything will be fine if I'm putting forth the footwork.
The AA meetings on campus have been going up and down with attendance. Sometimes there are too many people for all the seats, and other semesters there may be 4 or 5 of us. NA hasn't caught on as much, but it is still our first year having it at UNC-Charlotte. So if anyone has advice on how to increase campus participation at meetings, please let us know. We are always looking for suggestions. It is pretty amazing to see the program keep growing and see how far other schools have come as well.
Out at Triple Play Farm for of equine therapy seminar!
Team building at the US National Whitewater Center
We have been so blessed to be able to all share in these experiences and help each other through all the tough times. Sometimes it is hard to relate to a college student without being one. Try being a college student in recovery. Yes, we are the few who can relate on all those levels. It really makes a difference to be able to have this safe place and group of people who really understand.
Having the support of faculty and staff who truly believe in us as students and want to see the best for us has been very encouraging. I use to avoid any type of authority at any cost. Now I know a lot of people on campus. I have learned to utilize my resources and ask for help. I know asking for help is this new big thing in recovery, and I didn't think too highly of it until I saw how well it really works. For example, being able to speak to my professors on a one-on-one level has helped me see that they are there to support me as a student. I'm not saying I tell everyone I meet my entire story but for the most part people understand or at least sympathize.
It is truly the little things in life that add to my happiness! Please follow our blog if you aren't already! :)
Have a blessed day and remember your Recovery comes first. Otherwise you wouldn't have those problems of privilege, which can be so simple as having the opportunity to be in college. I am so grateful!
Not everyone will understand your recovery but as long as you are fully off the fence and admit that you need help you can receive it. Honesty, Open-mindedness, and Willingness the three "must haves" for recovery. It took what it took to get me where I am and by remembering the hurt and pain I can continually grow from it. Every experience in life shapes our character whether it be good or bad, it effects us. It is our perspective and outlook on the hard times that make us stronger. So if you are on the fence still figuring out if you should go one way or another, remember what got you to that fence. Also know that the other side is filled with amazing opportunities and great life experiences. I have enough drunk stories for a life time but now I have a life that is worth way more than just a story. My life is filled with adventures I can remember!! haha Imagine that!
Once I made the conscious decision to choose recovery and fully work a program my life changed for the better. For a long time I tried to hold on to those old ideas that maybe one day I could be normal and drink like a respectable lady. Or once I got out of this legal situation I will be better and everything will start working for me in the right way. It was my old thoughts and very close-minded outlook that wanted me not to change. Because lets face it change can be scary and that fear kept me sitting on the fence for a long time. The truth of the matter was that I wanted control of everything and everyone but it was the disease that had control of me.
Recovery has given me a life that I can be proud of. It has shown me a new outlook on things which used to be harmful for me. I no longer have the ability to judge anyone. You can never tell what someone else is going through and by no means compare yourself to them. "The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel."-Steve Furtick I absolutely love that quote and it is so true! Who knows what someone else has going on in their life but we happen to know all the details of ours.
All I can say is what worked for me and that recovery works. Progress not perfection, every day I can choose to live to the best of my ability or squander it away in a bottle. That is right today I have a choice! At one point it wasn't a choice it was the only option. Having the ability to do the next right thing is just amazing! When I go and do things for other people I don't scream it from the roof tops, I do it because it is the right things to do. Of course in the process it makes me feel a little better too, but that's just a plus not the reason behind why I do it.
Sometimes being a student can be stressful. Deadlines and classes and work. Where does our recovery fit in all this? I've always been told my recovery must come first or everything else will be lost. Well truth is it won't be lost I will freely give it away. My license, my car, my friends, my job, my education, and my willingness. All these things will be exactly where I leave them weather it is in the hands of a police officer, a junk yard or just a waste of a good person. Today I know I'm far from perfect and that it's progress not perfection. I also know that my laziness and old habits like procrastination or perfectionism can creep back up at any moment. Especially when I am not spiritually fit. Little things that I hardly consider, tend to be the biggest contributors to those old character defects coming back. Reading a daily meditation, exercising, going to a meeting, getting sleep, eating a healthy well balanced diet are those little things that make a BIG difference.
I think when I was told to always say yes when asked to do something in recovery I might just have taken it to the extreme. Haha funny an addict who takes things to the extreme! Sometimes it OK to say no! Overwhelming and overworking your body leads to breakdowns. Not only will your brain not function properly but you will be no use to yourself or others. Being a college student pulling all nighters, pushing things back to the very last minute, surviving on coffee and nicotine, I understand. There has to be balance in recovery, school, work, study time, and personal time. I'm still working on this balance and find myself getting better but at least I know that a drink or a drug is not going to make anything go away. For so long I used to cover up all the messes I was making. Now I see the mess and am trying to figure out how to clean it up, and sometimes it takes awhile to learn these new habits. I truly think all the craziness and events that are happening around me are there for a reason. I just have to keep telling myself it's Progress not Perfection!!
Thought this was pretty helpful :)
Please let me know if you have any questions or advice for the recovering student.
The N.O.P.E. (Narcotics Overdose Prevention Education) candlelight vigil and Rockin' for Recovery went so well!!
There was a good amount of people who made it out to Support Students in Recovery! It's very positive to know that other students on our campus are supportive to those in recovery. The rocking raised awareness about Recovery and helped new students to learn that we are there for them.
Other organizations on and off campus came to support and Rock with us! Thank you to Everyone it truly means a lot!
Thank you to everyone who came out or stopped by!! We all can make a change by letting others know there is always HOPE!
Our speaker and new found friend shared her story before the NOPE Vigil. Hearing the perspective of a mother who had lost her college age son to drugs was all to familiar. I had the pleasure of introducing Deanna Uhler, a very strong woman who chose to overcome her nerves and share her experience, strength, and hope with us. I opened by sharing some letters that were written by Alex's(Deanna's son) friends after his passing. It really puts in perspective of why we do what we do. By telling her story in hopes of helping others she also brought awareness to this epidemic harming our youth all around. By educating people we hope to help others receive the proper treatment and care in all aspects of the continuum. Recovery being the piece that was missing for so long.
Her message was very strong, there was not a dry eye in the room. By telling her story she touched souls and helped so many people. Thank you Deanna! You are truly an amazing woman! We are here if you need anything.
The voices of Eden Choir sang so beautifully. It was very amazing that they were there.
To remember the souls lost to addiction and overdose we held the candlelight vigil.
The Voices of Eden sang another song while we prayed for those who have been lost.
Know that Addiction is a disease just like cancer is a disease the loss of a person from one or the other should be treated the same. The sigma that is placed on Recovery makes it harder. Recovery is very positive and should not be a shameful thing.
If you are struggling and don't know what to do we here at The Center for Wellness Promotion in the Collegiate Recovery Community. Student Health Center Room 121. If we can not help you personally we can find out who can.
If you are find someone who is overdosing or passed out and are afraid to get them help because calling for help might get you or them in trouble. Please know that the 911 Good Samaritan law has been passed in NC as well as other states and you are protected. Please save a life the consequence of losing a child, sibling, parent, or friend is way worse. DON'T HESITATE TO GET HELP!
