- As seen first at In Our Words -

At that moment, I felt like Winona Ryder in Girl, Interrupted, timid and in over my head, overwhelmed by a world I didn’t understand. This new person looked harmless, younger than me.  That made it disappointing when he gave up and left 3 days later.

As I would find out, I wasthe oldest in this group of people, which baffled me.

 It took me 6 years to build my drinking habits to the point of destruction.  How in the world were these 22 year olds here already?  Couldn’t they have at least gone through a break up, punch that person in the face, and get arrested before they had any real reason to drink?  

That made sense to me because that was me, except in reverse order. It was drinking that led to those events and hearing the other stories I would come to hear from my “peers,” I guess I had the least amount of baggage to be sad about. I didn’t feel any less sad. I felt horrible.

The next stop in my tour was with the director of this program.

Oh Winehouse, guide me sister, I silently asked.  Just not out the front door.

—

Benjamin Ballard is a Chicago native who has excelled at several professions and excelled through several failures. Having only earned a silly little Business degree, he spent the majority of his 20s as head of a premier record store franchise. While music has always been his first love and media of choice, he also prides himself on being a good listener, loyal friend, and snappy dresser. As of late, he has taken inspiration from several outlets, including Beth Ditto and Diablo Cody, and continues to channel his creative side. He hopes that writing about his own life experiences will lead him into other areas of commentary.

To see the full story stay tuned for CHICAGO IRL #3 available in March. Come see us at the Chicago Zine Fest!