Absolutely it is possible to follow Sikhism despite your past. God is within you and He will forgive you. Personally, I believe the inside comes before the outside, meaning the values and beliefs inside are more important to start with. Basically what this means is that you need to start following the core values of Sikhi- remember God, do sewa, be honest, be respectful of your parents, share your earnings, stop doing drugs and drinking.( I know this is really hard. Its easy for someone who is not doing drugs to tell someone to stop. If you have an addiction, seek help for that first.) See girls as your sisters and treat them with respect. This is more important than just having the outer appearance of a Sikh and continuing to do bad things. I’m not saying- don’t keep your Kesh because obviously that’s really important, and may help you to show others that you are changed so they will leave you alone, but I am saying that the inner qualities are where you need to focus right now. There's a lot of change to be made inside. You are not alone in the path that you have followed up to this age. A lot of young people nowadays have lost their way. I’m proud of you for having this realization that its important for you to change your life. You are going to need some support from some good friends or family or someone to help you on this path. As a fellow young person, I can say that society pulls us in different directions, towards temporary pleasures that destroy us and pull us away from the discipline required to stay on this path. Kaam, Krodh, Lob, Moh and Hankaar (Lust, greed, anger, pride, and attachment) lure us in and we lose our path, but you can do this. Write down a plan for yourself because this is a lot of stuff to work on. Write down the steps that you need to take and the changes you need to make and start slowly. Don’t overwhelm yourself or you may find yourself going back to what is familiar. There is no use in beating yourself up over what’s over and gone, but it’s time to ask God for some help in moving forward.
