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YOUR BALANCE
It was so much more than winning a National Championship...
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It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 8, 2017, 11:41 PM

It wasn’t ‘just another game’….

My mother is one of those 'extremely passionate' Clemson fans. You know the ones that pop in the 1981 National Championship VHS tape on a rainy day and get just as excited as the day it actually happened and she can recognize the likes of Perry Tuttle or ‘The Fridge’ in a grocery store 30 years after they played their last game for Clemson. I have absolutely no recollection of our first game together for the simple fact that I was 6 months old when she took me to Blacksburg, Virginia for Clemson's season opener against Virginia Tech in 1985. I hear that Clemson scored on the very last play of the game of that game, making it a thrilling victory for the Tigers.

In that moment my mom could have never fathomed that her precious Clemson clad daughter would go on to live a life of booze filled days and drug infested nights. She raised my brother and me to love the Lord and always do the right thing so she never thought she would receive one much less multiple calls from various jails informing her that her daughter had been arrested again. My mom didn't prepare herself to go months without knowing where I was or even if I was alive or dead. Nor did she know that she would have to raise her granddaughter when the state deemed me unfit to parent my own child.

While in active addiction, we sever lifelong meaningful relationships with friends and family in pursuit of our high. We shut out the ones we once loved and shun the people that care for our well-being. One of the people that I cut the most ties with while using was my mother. We had become opposites. My love for booze and drugs had surpassed the love I had for my own mother. Her disapproval of my lifestyle drove a wedge between us and I refused to care. The fact that my mother cared about me was threatening to my lifestyle and I resented that. Familiarity breeds contempt, a statement never so true to an addict.

After agreeing to enter a treatment program, I thought my life was over. I was filled with self-doubt and self-loathing and the only antidote to these feelings that I knew, drugs and alcohol, had been ripped from me. It was heart wrenching. After completing treatment, I slowly began to mend past positive relationships, even with my mother. This took time and effort on both of our parts and trust was eventually regained. I began to enjoy my mother's company and she mine. Early sobriety is the time of our greatest confusion. While we are still in that peculiar state of expecting everyone to congratulate us, we learn quickly that is not the reality of life but my mom was able to look within me and see something worth believing in, long before I believed in myself.

In January of this year, I was in a place I never fathomed I would be. I stood with my mom at a stadium in Tampa Bay watching our beloved Tigers play. We watched while Clemson methodically moved down the field to score on the very last play of the game with 1 second remaining, claiming the coveted National Championship title. Tears streaked down our faces, we hugged, we cheered, and in the midst of the deafening crowd noise and the confetti swirling around I couldn't help but think of the road that led me right there to that moment. In sobriety, ordinary life becomes extraordinary and there's no better high than a life you're proud of. A tradition that started 31 years ago in Blacksburg, Virginia was still going strong because by the grace of God I was alive and thus far sobriety had made true on all of its promises. That night in the back of our minds, we were not only celebrating a Clemson victory but a victory over addiction that brought a mother and daughter back together again.

Written by Ashley Hiers; sober for 5 years and currently working at a treatment center in Rock Hill, SC which provides the opportunity every day to spread the message of HOPE to those still suffering from the insidious disease of addiction.

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VERY well written and good to hear... Keep it up!***


Mar 8, 2017, 11:47 PM



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Dang confetti in my eyes again!


Mar 8, 2017, 11:52 PM

Great story - thank you for sharing!

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 8, 2017, 11:56 PM

cherish your Mom

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 12:03 AM

That took some serious guts to post. Stay the course! Remember the gospel of Matthew. Yesterday is past, today is a present and tomorrow will take care of itself or something like that. God bless you and stay strong

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If you haven't sent that to your mom yet...


Mar 9, 2017, 12:07 AM

you should do so right now.

Speaking as a parent...I don't think you realize how proud she is of you right now.

Keep up the strong fight.

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This needs to remain near the top today... Thanks.***


Mar 9, 2017, 6:12 AM



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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 6:22 AM

Very inspiring..people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Your mom believed in you until you believed in yourself and yours is a heart warming story. I will pray for you and continue the great work. Tiger Nation is proud of you. Go Tigers!!

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 6:30 AM

Wow. God bless you and your mother. Keep fighting the good fight

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 6:35 AM

This is so well written and I know your message will be an inspiration to others out there.
You have much to celebrate. Blessings to you and your mom.

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 6:52 AM

Prayers to you for strength as you continue to battle addiction and its many insidious ways to draw you back in. My father is approaching his 10,000th day sober and there are still days that are just as difficult as the first. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and remember that alcohol and drugs will never love you back.

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Thanks for Sharing!


Mar 9, 2017, 7:13 AM

Stay strong in your faith and God will carry you all the way to the promised land. I watched my aunt go through what your Mom has done. I love my cousin and my aunt and I am proud of them for their courage. Its takes a belief in something bigger to get you through and they both are strong in their love for God! Thanks again for sharing!

Go Tigers! and God Bless!

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 7:13 AM

Awesome awesome story. I loved reading that.

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 7:16 AM

Good for you Ashley. Stay strong.

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 7:42 AM

Stay strong! Hold on to those memories with your Mom. You seem to be in a great place.

I was lucky to be there that night with my parents. A trip with them that I will never forget.

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 7:46 AM

So sorry you had to find your way through your personal addiction but am so glad to hear you've not only overcome it, but that you are now helping others!

Thank you for sharing your - and your mother's story. May God continue towork through you both!


GO TIGERS!!!

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Whatever choice(s) you make makes you. Choose wisely.


Good job Ashley and Gooooo Tigers ! !***


Mar 9, 2017, 8:22 AM



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Absolutely the best post I have ever read on here. And


Mar 9, 2017, 8:29 AM

a great picture with the 2 most genuine smiles I have ever seen.


I was in that stadium, too, and it was an amazing time and place where our Clemson Family gathered to be together and love on each other and see an amazing thing happen on that field.

The night will now hold even more meaning for all of us who have just read your story.


Thank you for the courage to share it.

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Brad Brownell: Only Larry freaking Shyatt has a WORSE overall winning percentage among Clemson basketball coaches since 1975. Let that sink in. It's Larry Shyatt & then Brad Brownell.


Seven years and I agree...***


Mar 9, 2017, 11:55 AM



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Yo for realdo


Mar 9, 2017, 8:35 AM



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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 8:35 AM

Great story; thank you for sharing and congratulations! Keep up the good work and best wishes for you and your loved ones in the future. Based on your picture, you must have sat just a few rows below me! Great place to be to see the winning TD!!!

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Nice!!***


Mar 9, 2017, 8:47 AM



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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 9:03 AM

??
Love you for that post. Very meaningful. Thank you!
Oh yeah.... CONGRATULATIONS!

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 9:17 AM

absolutely one of the greatest testaments I've ever read. I wish my younger brother would have been stronger than his addiction and he would have lived to see his beloved Clemson Tigers win the National Championship and we could have shared that moment together. Instead, I had to spend it alone.

Thanks for sharing!

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 11:57 AM

What was the addiction if I don't mind me asking

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What an inspirational story!***


Mar 9, 2017, 9:38 AM



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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 10:27 AM

My gosh girl. That was beautiful. I'm so happy for you. Ain't God good? He gives us multiple, multiple, multiple chances. So glad to hear your story. Whatever you do, don't quit telling it. Shout it from the rooftop if ya have to. Thank you so much for sharing that beautiful story of redemption. May God bless you and your Mom and family.

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This is a truly inspirational story, and why parents


Mar 9, 2017, 10:31 AM

continue to love their children, even if they don't like the person their child is at the present time. May God continue to be with you and your family every day, keeping you on the path to permanent sobriety. Thank you for being brave enough to share your story on Tigernet, I guarantee you Mom is proud of you today.

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 11:41 AM

This took great courage to share. I will pray for your continued strength and success.

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Re: It was so much more than winning a National Championship...


Mar 9, 2017, 12:01 PM

Great post. Best wishes on your continued relationship with your Mom and your sobriety. She definitely sounds like a #1 Tiger fan!

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Replies: 29
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