Life-gripping addictions knocked them down, but they’re back on their feet again
Published 11:12 am Thursday, September 5, 2019
Weston Aron works in a University of Mississippi biology lab feeding cloned fruit flies. Aron, whose promising academic career at a major university was derailed by drugs, alcohol and arrests, is sober and working hard on his degree at Ole Miss. Photo by Megan Wolfe/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
Sam Peeler, who used to begin every day at 10 a.m. by drinking and taking Xanax, eventually wound up in prison. He is sober and working on his degree at the University of Mississippi, thanks to the support network of the university's Collegiate Recovery Community. Photo by Megan Wolfe/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
Eric Peters works the line at Grit restaurant in Taylor. The University of Mississippi student, who battled alcohol addiction during his career as an executive chef, has been sober for years and is working on his degree. Photo by Megan Wolfe/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
After the arrest, he left and spent two years out of college, working in the insurance industry. He went to Itawamba Community College online, then got a job making decent money, which probably would have allowed him to pay for school without debt.
He enrolled at Ole Miss in spring 2015 as a philosophy major after the two-year period of working and not taking classes was through.
He worked over the summer and saved enough to cover a semester of tuition and other costs.
“I blew it all in one weekend for my 21st birthday, not intending to do it,” Aron said. “I got blackout drunk and then got back home and checked my bank account. There are several thousand dollars I have no accounting for.”
A blur
His college experience was a blur of alcohol, marijuana and pills, such as Xanax and the ADHD medication Vyvanse. Winters were particularly hard on his emotional state. His depression worsens during the cold months, though he hasn’t actually been diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, he said.
The Vyvanse raised his spirits, as it’s a strong stimulant, but when he came off it, things would get rough.
“It is like four to five days of immeasurable sadness, and you have nothing you can do to fix it,” Aron said. “You drink or get high to fix it, but really you are just super-tired. Every bit of serotonin or dopamine in your brain is just depleted, and so you can’t fix that and that goes on until spring.”
Cumberland Heights
In the spring of 2016, Aron was at his low point. He finally listened to the people around him and decided to leave Oxford and enter rehab at Cumberland Heights, just outside Nashville.
“I left town and I took pretty much all of the advice that was given to me,” Aron said. “I was really, really desperate when I left here. They told me about the cliche of new playground, new friends being important in recovery. I took that to heart.”
