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Nic is Born
Nic being born was a huge day for thwe Sheff family. The family greatly prepared for the arrival of Nic. David and Vickie painted him a nursery and furnished it with dressers and bookshelves. The baby already had a ton of gifts from family friends such as stuffed panda bears. Vicki began having contrations on midnight morning of july 20th. The baby was born at dawn. -
Nic Starts Kindergarten
Nic is five years old when he starts kindergarten. He a tended a school in San Francisco that has been around for nearly one hundred years. Kindergarten brings out Nic's confidence and individuality at a very young age. In kindergarten Nic also becomes very free and outgoing as he roams around with his friends at the Golden Gate Park. Kindergarten most importantly showed how caring Nic was. He showed how caring he was when he offered to donate to his schools Toys for Tots Christmas Program. -
Nic Drinks Alcohol for the First Time
In a midwinter long weekend, just before jasper was born, Nic’s family took a ski trip to Lake Tahoe. Nic’s parents allowed Nic to bring his friend Philip. One night David and Karen went to bed early and Nic and Philip got bored. Nic rummaged through the liquor cabinet and eventually he and Philip were pouring each other shots from rum to tequila. Nic wanted to know what it was like to be drunk; This event is significant because it is the start of Nic's alcohol problem. -
Nic Smokes Weed for the First Time
Nic has just begun seventh grade, Nic has a new group of friends that he hangs out with. Some of his friends smoke cigarettes and Nic admitted to David that he tried it. As David is going through Nic’s back pack looking for a sweater, he finds a bag of marijuana. Nic smoking weed is a serious problem. Marijuana is often referred to as a gateway drug. This means that a person that tries weed makes them more likely to try a harsher drug. Weed allowed Nic to try other substances. -
Nics Freshmen Year of Highschool
Nic attends a high school that is older than his kindergarten. Nic made the freshmen basketball team and is had sucess. Nic gets another new group of friends that are very intellectual. Nic adored his teachers. Nic then gets in trouble from the dean for buying marijuana on school campus. This event is very suggestive. It foreshadows a future for Nic. If Nic is willing to spend his own money on a drug like weed, it only makes you wonder what the future holds. -
Nics Senior Year of High School
Senior years begins and he really starts to change, Although Nic still maintains his grades, he starts cutting classes, quits the swimming team, pushing his curfew, starts to hang out with stoners. Sheff shows how much Nic is skipping class when he says, "...one day his class dean tells me Nic has broken a record for most missed classes of any senior"(1313), Nic also starts lying to his parents. Nic’s dishonesty and lack of responsibilitresponsibility are effects from the drugs controlling Nic. -
Nic Tries Meth
Nic disappears for four days. Nic finally calls David and tells him he is in a lot of trouble and owes people money. As Nic tries to explain his situation, Nic tells David, "I learned how dangerous meth is"(1533). This was the first time Nic tried meth and this was the start of an addiction. -
Nic Goes to Rehab
David makes Nic go to a rehab center in Oakland. This rehab center told Nic that he should go elsewhere. Nic then attends to Ohlhoff. He goes to this facility for a twenty eight day program. After this Nic begs to come home. He believes that he does not have problem and that he can become sober by himself. This is just an indicator that he actually does have a problem. Denial is the number one sign that a person is addicted. This shows that Nic really does have a problem. -
Nic Relapses in New York
Nic's family friends offer to go to New York with David to get Detoxed. While Nic is in New York Nic's Stepfather calls David. He tells David that Nic has overdosed on meth and he is on life support in the emergency room. Nic was very close to dying and if the EMT did not act immediately Nic would have died, Usually in the case a meth addict hits rock bottom and can totally realize drugs can kill him, In this case Nic is so hooked and nothing is stopping him. -
Nic Steals 8 Dollars From Jasper
Drugs have made Nic a different person. He has no sense of awareness and does not know what he is doing. Nic gets inside of the house and steals eight dollars from Jasper. This money is going to be used for drugs. This event shows how messed up drugs have made Nic. The only thing Nic is thinking about is his next hit. Nothing else matters in the world for addicts except their next supply of drugs -
Nic Gets Randy as a Sponser
Nic then goes to Herbert house in Culver City. Nic is given a sponsor named Randy, Nic really likes randy an can really relate to him. They would always go on bike rides and surf together. If Nic would think about relapsing he would call Randy and Randy would talk him out of it. The astonishing part about this event was that Nic was able to stay sober almost for two whole years. -
Nic Sends Jasper an Envelope
From the help of Randy, Nic's AA sponsor, Nic got back on the right track. He was now mentally stable enough to realize what he did to Jasper. He then mailed Jasper an envelope with 8 dollars in and a very sincere apology letter. This is a very huge progress and a great event. This shows the progress Nic has made through rehab. -
Nic Breaks In
Nic goes missing for a week. Karen realizes one morning that there is something different about their home. David and Karin come to the conclusion that Nic broke in their house. Nic and Karen see Nic's car and both chase after him and they both eventually give up. Nic then calls David and tells him that he relapsed on meth and heroin. -
Nic and His Girlfriend Break Up
Nic and hid girlfriend Z compromise on a deal. They are not going to allow each other to relapse on meth. If one is to relapse the other would break up the relationship up. Nic had his mind set that he was going to stay sober but his addiction was to strong. He ended up relapsing and Z broke up with him. The important part to realize is that Nic's addiction was stronger than love. -
Nic Writes Memoir
Nic gets asked to write his own memoir. He was surprisingly excited about it. You would think that it might be hard for a meth addict to write about his personal story. You can see Nic's reaction to writing the story when Sheff says, "When Nic is asked to write his memoir, he enthusiastically goes forward."(33820). This is a big step because writing about ones memoir can often help someone going through hard times.
