Rebel without a Cause
Throughout my youth I have always questioned why do kids try to grow up so fast? Looking back at my high school years, I wonder why I was one of those kids. In today’s society, high school students have made it a norm for under aged kids to drink. Teens think it is cool to try and seem older by imitating what goes on in college, but little do they realize being cool can lead to a lot more serious consequences then their adolescence mind can handle.
My senior year of high school was definitely a year lived to the fullest. Looking back at it, I am glad it was the year I took on more responsibility then ever and decided to stop drinking. Especially when just a few weeks after I decided to stop drinking and focus on getting into college all of my friends got caught drinking at a party and were all given under aged drinking and possession tickets. I felt bad for all of those kids, but I had to laugh. They all felt so rebellious and cool that they were drinking and smoking and thought that it was impossible for them to get caught. Now that they finally did get caught, they realized that it was the stupidest decision of their lives. Many of them felt depressed and had a hard time coping with the realization that the life they had worked so hard to build up was crumbling around them just because of one night. All these kids that were caught were not only immediately punished by their parents, but lost their athletic scholarships and were already put on probation for their first semester of college. It was the smartest thing I have ever done, deciding to stop drinking, it saved me my future and secured my scholarship for swimming at Georgia Southern University.
Through many personal experiences, I have seen many lives ruined due to alcohol. Their families were torn apart because the parents could not handle the stress of punishing their kids, trying to keep them innocent and away from alcohol and other harmful substances. Kids do not realize the seriousness of drinking until it is too late. Many do not realize that their actions do not only hurt them, but those around them as well. Over 5,000 kids die each year from under aged drinking and that number continues to grow (niaaa.gov).
December 24, 2008, I lost a friend to under aged drinking. He was attempting to pass a truck on a road nearby my house. He had been drinking, and going thirty five miles over the speed limit he swung out onto the opposite side of the road to pass the truck, just as a mother pulled out of a neighborhood to head home after a long day of Christmas shopping. He not only ended his life, but also the life of this young mother of three and his younger sister’s. It was the night before Christmas and police had to inform two families the reality of what happened their loved ones were killed because of an under aged drinker was careless and selfish enough to drive his car and kill himself along with two other innocent victims. This is one out of the five friends I lost due to drunk driving my four years of high school, and this along with the others is very hard to forgive.
The road in which this accident happened is notorious for drunken accidents. There are four different places where remembrance flowers and lanterns are placed to remember those kids who were victims of drunk driving. Every time I drive down this road I get the chills. It is not right that so many innocent children die because of something that could have been prevented. Under aged drinking is something I strongly disagree with because I have seen the consequences first hand.

Five friends from high school have passed away from drunk driving. Countless have been issued drinking tickets. And many of their families were broken apart because their parents could no longer handle the stress of day to day life of raising a rebellious teen. Underage drinking has the potential to not only ruin lives but also to end them. So why should kids take that chance? Life is not something anyone should chance, so kids should wait until they are of age and responsible enough to drink.