Dear Teenagers:
We love you. Believe it or not, we were teenagers too and remember what it was like to be young. It is hard for us to admit it, but we too thought we invincible, as I'm sure you do. We thought, "Nothing will ever happen to us!"
We were also motivated by fun, like you are. It is great to be young, but as we now know, if we aren't careful of our attitude and choices, fun can turn into tragedy!
I want to share with you some of the experiences I have had and some of the things I have observed and learned.
Tree Blue
The reality is that many of the people we knew, when we were young, didn't make it. They are either dead; because of the choices they made, or have destroyed their own lives with alcohol and drugs, especially alcohol! Many of them have ruined the families they had, because of their bad habits and lots of them damaged their kids, by being bad examples.
Those of us who survived were able to see where our life was headed and made better choices. For some reason we were the lucky ones. Possibly, so we could share with you what we have learned. The truth is, WE FEAR FOR YOUR LIVES!
Too many of you are headed toward a life of destruction. ALCOHOL AND DRUGS WILL DESTROY YOU! You may not believe it, but we have lived long enough to know what I am saying is true.
Partying was the name of the game then and still is. Partying means drinking alcohol, and/or using drugs. Of course, you like to do these things because, temporarily, they make you feel good and it seems like you are having fun. It is just that, after the so-called-fun is over, what are the consequences?
Here are three true stories of kids who are now suffering the consequences.
This is a letter from a boy, who is locked up in Juvenile Hall, in San Diego.
Be a Winner in Life
I'm in jail at the age of sixteen in unit 800, maximum security, and it looks like I'm facing a lot of time because of my crime.
I was with four of my friends driving to a party. When we got there, my so-called friends, offered me a drink. I would have usually taken the drink and done some drugs, that awful night, but I was driving, so I said "no", at first, but then the peer pressure came on "Oh come on don't be a wuss", or "one drink won't hurt".
So like any other teen, I did it with pride, and downed that petty shot of liquor, like it was a glass of water, and you guys know you can't only have one drink, so one drink became two, two became three and three became six.
Now at the party feeling better than ever, my cell phone rings and it's my worst enemy girls...They ask me, and my homies to come kick it. I tell them "no" because I was faded. But the homies said, "yes we'll come over."
So me, I'm getting there all drunk and peeled out, saying to myself "who cares, what's the worst that could happen to me?" My friends jumped in the ride.
Now we're on our way, driving about 120 miles in a residential area. All swerve and zig-zag. Red lights, blue lights, cops behind me . In my mind, I'm thinking "I could lose them."
My friends tell me, "don't pull over." Now what shall I do? So when I'm puzzled, my friend reminds me, how much trouble I'm going to get into, so I thought, "don't fry".
When I pulled over, I seen the cop step out of his police car, and come my way. When he was by the end of my car, I put the car on drive, and drove away...fast, uncontrollably fast, on the freeway driving at 135 miles per hour, feeling like superman flying, passing cars, feeling so good, because I lost the police.
Next thing I know BAM!!! Car Accident. Blood everywhere. Broken windshield and to top it off, my friend flew through the front window. No seatbelt on,
left me and my two other friends injured. But at the time I wasn't worried about us. It was the one outside I was worried about. The dead one.
By the time I got out of the car, police everywhere...We were taken into the hospital and then arrested. One friend was okay, the other was injured. I was hurt in every way possible and the last one was 'dead'.
My charges are DUI, evading a piece officer, driving at an unsafe speed with no license, a firearm in the car and 187 murder.
Now I'm facing more time than ever, with a body over my head. Regretting everything. It was a mistake, I'll never forget.
Now the only friends I got is my family. They're helping me get through this.
From my story, all I have to say to you guys is, "don't ever listen to your "homies" or your friends because their not your real friends." Family first!
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE HIM?
The second story is awful!
A 17 year old boy, who was a top student and a great golfer, went to a party with his friends, and was drinking alcohol and smoking mariwana. After the party he had to go to work. He got into his car feeling high, and made another stupid choice. He stopped his car on the freeway to smoke another mariwana cigarette. He started up his car, began speeding, lost control, drove off the freeway and hit three trees. Today he sits in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the neck down. No more golf. No more fun!
HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU WERE HIM?
Another story:
On Saturday, Dec. 21, 2002, I attended the funeral of a 17-year-old, Oceanside boy. He too is a victim of making the wrong choice, the consequence of thinking, "Nothing will happen to me".
Taylor Hodgson went to a party and then got into a car, driven by a friend who was at the party. The 22 year-old, allegedly was driving drunk. He sped along Highway 78 and lost control, as he was weaving in and out of traffic. The pickup struck two other vehicles and rolled, throwing Taylor onto the roadway. He died four hours later.
Taylor was a boy everyone liked. The funeral was filled with schoolmates and friends. His family was broken by the tragedy of losing the son and brother they loved. Taylor no longer has a life, to discover his potential and his fun is over! The twenty-two-year old driver is in jail, now a killer!
WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR LIFE TO BE OVER?
Those who love you would never get over it.
Unfortunately, these incidents are just isolated cases. I see hundreds of kids in similar situations. Please be smart. Make the right choices. Choose not to drink alcohol, at all! Don't use drugs! Don't get into a vehicle when someone else is drinking. Be sure to remember!
IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!!!!!!! MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES!!!!!!!
Love Eva Fry
Author of "BE A WINNER IN LIFE"
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