Welcome to another expression of gratitude on this Grateful Heart Monday! Today, I want to offer my gratefulness for returning to my former alma mater, Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.), just over a week ago solely to do an alcohol, drug, and hazing presentation, something I felt was a great honor given the mass chaos and destruction I once caused there during my undergraduate days.
I find it so ironic that I was able to offer a presentation to my fraternity about the very thing that almost got me booted both from it and my college almost thirty years ago now. I truly was a holy terror during my undergraduate days. I harmed myself, others, and was extremely reckless on a daily basis, all due to alcohol and drug addiction. If you asked me then whether I’d be clean and sober and living a life of recovery one day, one that involved me giving a presentation surrounding it all to my very fraternity, I would have laughed and said, “Yeah, right!” How things have changed within me indeed since then!
Speaking to the majority of my active chapter was such an incredible honor and incredibly humbling. Talking about all the damage my addiction to alcohol and drugs once caused my fraternity and to my life in general was actually far harder than most of my other motivational speaking has been in recent years. On some level, I realized I was speaking to some who might actually be doing the very thing to their own lives I once did when I was taking classes and going for my degree. I think that’s why this felt more like doing a living amends, one that I continue to live out with my chapter making up for all my former wrongdoing with them.
I am grateful to say that my presence and presentation with my chapter ended up being a complete success. When I was done speaking, I noticed there were a number of people there moved to tears, something I often don’t see coming from men in general. The outpouring of thanks and connection I received afterwards was immense and far deeper than anything I ever experienced during my undergraduate days.
All the heartfelt text messages, phone calls, walk-up approaches, and even follow-up 1-on-1 meetings from some who needed further guidance with addiction issues in their lives felt more fulfilling than anything I’ve experienced in recent years in my 12 Step recovery work. One brother there even lovingly nominated me for the next chapter president, which I took as a great honor, and something I probably would have accepted if I was still attending school there these days.
Nevertheless, I wholeheartedly love doing the work I do in alcohol and drug education, especially telling my story to help inspire others who want to know about addiction and recovery and for those still trying to find healing themselves from addiction. It truly has become one of the biggest blessings in my life. And in all honestly, visiting R.I.T., solely for the sake of helping my fraternity in their risk management education may just very well be the best sobriety gift I received in 2022 thus far.
So, to all my brothers of New York Theta Phi Kappa Psi, I offer my sincere thanks and gratitude on this Grateful Heart Monday for making it possible for me to return to tell you my addiction to recovery story and be there for all of you like many brothers once were for me. It was humbling, healing, and rewarding on many levels, and something I hope to continue doing for all of you in the future. I love you all!
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
