ESCAPADES: How Alcohol Made Me Flank My History Test

By Albert Elwa

Albert Elwa, the narrator

Hello everyone, welcome back to escapades. I hope you are all doing your bit in one way or another to fight this beast of substance abuse/addiction.

Like any normal young man, I was very excited to join high school for my S.1. Having passed very highly, being among the best in the country and admitted to the country’s most prestigious boys’ school, nothing seemed in the way to stop my dream of being the best lawyer in this country.

However, something happened in my S.2 that was to crush that dream permanently. I LEARNT HOW TO
DRINK ALCOHOL!

I was introduced to alcohol by the older boys in my neighbourhood in Bugolobi Flats. The discovery of
something that relaxed my nerves and gave me confidence, quickly introduced a new hobby to my life.
DRINKING!

By the end of S.2, my academics had totally declined and in S.3 first term, I was discontinued from
school. I joined another school in Kampala where I was discontinued after a month.

I sat home for the next two terms and joined another school in Seeta to redo my S.3; Now this ‘school
was more of a holiday camp than an ‘academic institution.’

At 17 and rebounding S.3, I was about the youngest in the school. Most students were about the same age with the teachers, having fled the war in the North and enrolled for adult education at this school. Drinking and smoking were not a crime in this school as long as you were not reported for distracting or disrupting your colleagues. You were allowed to drink and smoke in peace.

One particular incidence is still very vivid in my memory. Having come from top schools, I quickly assessed my classmates. This caused me to relax and enjoy the ‘freedom’ offered by the school.

One day we were told to read for a history test that was due in three days. I didn’t bother much since we were being taught topics I had covered in my S.2 at my previous school. I was confident that an hour or two of revision would earn me the number one slot in the test.

The test was slated for Friday afternoon and I woke up with a very bad hangover, having drunk the previous evening. I decided to top up with some more alcohol in order to neutralise the hangover. This only worsened the situation.

In the exam room, I kept reading question after question, confusing answers, writing and cancelling. I kept asking for more writing paper and by the end of the exam duration, my only accomplishment was writing my name.

Results came back, and yes I was the first in the test but this time from the bottom! Alas, alcohol had brought me from top to last position.

This is what alcohol and other drugs do to all areas of our lives. If it is school, your performance begins to deteriote and you eventually drop out or if you are lucky, you might complete, albeit with very poor grades.

If it is a job, your performance deteriorates and you are either demoted or fired from work.

Relationships suffer, families break down and finally diseases and death come calling. To the young ones, stay away from alcohol and other drugs. To those trapped in a life of substance abuse or living with loved ones suffering from addiction, there’s a way out. Seek help for yourself or the sufferer that you know. Reach us at any of our listed contacts.

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