Mistakes From The Past

Earlier tonight, I was talking to a friend from high school, and we were talking about people we used to hang out with and where their lives have led them now. When I was in high school, I wasn't exactly the smartest girl. I dated this guy who was simply put... a bad guy. Everybody warned me about him and told me how he was always cheating on me and he always talked bad about me.
I was naive, and I wouldn't listen. Instead, I would sneak out of my house, I would ditch my friends, I would lie to my parents, most of all I would lie to myself. Eventually, I was able to get myself out of that situation. It was hard, and it took a lot to build back the trust my parents had lost in me and the friendships I had lost, but in the end it was worth it.
Anyways, as I was talking to my friend, she was telling me that this guy I dated hadn't changed for the better. He is heavy into drugs and has a kid with another on the way, and he's not exactly living anywhere decent. The guys he used to hang out with (for whatever disgusting reason, I was attracted to them too) aren't doing very good either. One of his friends got kicked out of his parents because he was a big druggie and they didn't want him around his little sister being a bad influence. Another one got really big into drugs too, supposedly he's cleaned up now, but he's living in the ghetto. One of his really good friends has been in and out of jail.
I look back on all of that and wonder how I ever survived. Not only that, I am sooooooooo thankful that I never ended up getting involved with any of them any further... if I would, I may not be in the situation I am now. Things could always be worse... and right now more things than not have been going my way. Of course there are some things that I don't like and don't want to deal with, but that is a part of life.