I am new at Penn Foundation Recovery Center.  I came here a few days ago and I didn’t really want to.  My family said it was rehab or the streets, so I made the only logical choice.

When I first got here, there was a lot of waiting around followed by a lot of paperwork followed by a lot of talking to different staff.  I spent time with Ted, the techs, the nurses, it felt like I was never going to be settled in.  But finally I got to my room and had a chance to unpack.  My roommates came in and introduced themselves, and they seemed to be pretty nice.

My first night wasn’t too bad, the food for dinner was good (I was worried about that).  We had an AA meeting where people came in from “the outside world”.  I really liked it and I met some cool people.  They let us watch tv for a little while at night, that was nice, I felt more at home.

The next day they work me up really early (I’m not a morning person), but once I got going, it was ok.  The groups I have been to have been interesting, and I haven’t been bored yet.  We get a few hours of free time in the afternoon which I appreciate (so I can take a nap!).

I’m not sure about anything yet.  I honestly don’t know if I am really ready to be clean and sober for the rest of my life.  They keep telling me to take it “one day at a time”, and I can do that.  Yes, I would rather be home with my friends, but this isn’t too bad.  I am willing to listen to what everyone has to say and I am willing to give recovery a try.  Thats more than I would have said last week - I guess that’s a start.