Against Drinking

About a week ago I did a video interview about teenage drinking. I was very glad to have this opportunity because I have seen the harmful affects of drinking first hand. I have lost two family members due to alcohol, and it has been extremely painful for both sides of my family. I also saw alcohol becoming more prevalent this past year in high school. At first, when teachers warned about peer pressure, I could never really relate because I had never been in an environment where that would be present. However, I now realize that their advice was extremely important. I had a best friend who had always been close to me and we always had so much fun together going to basketball games, dances, and school events. I hung out with her all the time and we told each other everything. We were both ballet dancers and we had a lot in common. I remember at the beginning of our freshman year we promised each other that we wouldn't drink or smoke. I have kept my promise, but she didn't. It was terrible to see her behaving differently and to watch so many other friends doing the same. I felt so out of place and I could never really understand why they couldn't have fun without drinking or smoking. Overtime, I found myself drifting apart from her and by the middle of the year we weren't talking anymore. Now we don't even say hello and it is heart breaking for me. She still has a ton of friends and I have had to start all over. There have been days where I have had to sit by myself and that was so difficult- especially for a teenager. However, I stand by my morals and I would never betray the promise I made to myself my freshman year. I realized my opinion to an even greater extent when we were assigned in English class to speak about one of our beliefs. I spoke about how I would not drink under the legal age and I shared with the class my family experience. This took a lot of courage and I found myself struggling to be so open about something that many probably would disagree with. However, I was surprised by how many agreed with me. I found out that my old friend was making fun of me for talking about under age drinking, but I will always be loyal to my beliefs. This has been a challenging year for me, but I know that it has made me a stronger person because of it. All that I can do is try to set a good example for my peers and follow my values. Be true to yourself!!