A Spectrum of Deceits: Into the Lives of Student Reformists of E.C. Bernabe National High School–Bagac, Bataan

Abstract

Drug addiction is a menace that continues to afflict great damage to our society. This phenomenological study described the lived experience of high school students who fell victim to drugs and were reformed through the government’s campaign against drugs. The participants in the study were 3 senior high school students who assented to share their stories and experiences from being a regular student to becoming a drug addict and finally a reformist. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed into text and were analyzed and interpreted hermeneutically. Three themes emerged to describe the lived experience of the drug reformists: Living in a world of lies; war against everyone else; and seeking shelter. These themes revealed the nature of drug dependence among high school students and the extent to which the experiences affect the participants’ perception on their own existence in this world. Initially, the participants were just living like everyone else, trying to survive against poverty, school works and pressures from everywhere else. One small session was what it took to convict them in a world of lies where they thought they were invulnerable and where they could be happy. It was the search for happiness and acceptance that delivered them to addiction and right there they started to engage in a war against all the things they knew of just to sustain the new world they had created. They would go to any lengths just to carry on with their journey until the government stepped in. Fearing for their lives, they submitted themselves to be rehabilitated and their stay in the reformation center made them think on how they would continue their lives after rehabilitation. After reflecting on their experiences, they believed that they could become someone better. Yet still, the participants still seek shelter against the ridicules that were being thrown upon them. This paper hopes to promote a greater understanding of journey of our young drug reformists who still have to curve their names and have their existence known to the world.