My name is Kayla. I'm a wife. I'm a daughter. I'm a full time worker. I'm mother to two cats and a golden retriever with dwarfism. I am one of the biggest animal rights activists in the world, and I am a best friend. I am a grand daughter, and I am a great-grand daughter. I am many things.

But, most important to some - I am just a junkie.

I am just a junkie, or so Facebook and Twitter constantly remind me. I am reminded of how much of a piece of shit I am. I see people saying 'junkies' are losers, degenerate scums and that I chose to make my life this way. I disagree, but because I am a junkie I have no say; I have no opinion in any topic. I am lower than pond scum.

I am on a maintenance drug, so in fact I am worse than a junkie. Fellow 'junkies' make fun of me, too. Apparently I am not clean. I am not strong enough. I have no will power. I try to argue, saying I have will power and am strong enough or there would still be three bundles of heroin in my system; they disagree. They say it's the same thing.

I am more than just a junkie.

I am more than just a junkie because I get up every morning and do not get high on drugs, or high in general at that. I am more than just a junkie because I feel every emotion that courses through my body; I know what it is like to cry and actually feel the pain that made it happen. I am not a junkie because the term 'junkie' is wrong and outdated. No body in the entire planet deserves to be called a junkie.

I work a regular 40 hours a week, not including overtime. I provide what I can for my family. Every morning I feed two stray cat colonies and make sure they're warm and their shelters are up to my standards. I love every single person I meet, and try to make someone laugh, even if it is just once.

I am not a loser, I am not scum. I am a human being like every judgmental asshole in the world.

The word junkie is just that, a word. It is not a correct adjective for a human being who is struggling with drug addiction. We are drug addicts, helpless drug addicts who sometime take a little while to find a reason to get clean, and that is okay. I am not a junkie, but a recovering drug addict.

I am more than just a junkie because I am a human. I have made mistakes like every single person in the universe, but by no means am I a degrading word. I am more than that, and I always will be.