When I was in the eleventh grade in high school, I took a substance abuse class. At that time, I did not grasp the fact that alcohol abuse actually was a sub division of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and particularly about drug abuse and alcoholism symptoms, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for people all over the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol treatment and the different signs of alcoholism that are usually manifested by people who engage in hazardous drinking.
Some of the detrimental effects associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class certainly startled me. The ruined lives and abundant problems experienced by most alcoholics made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. More to the point, I did not want to face the disaster and devastation that alcohol addicted individuals almost always go through.
Think about this for a moment. What teenager wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What young person wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that drinking alcohol becomes the object of one's life? What adolescent wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related problems before he or she becomes twenty-one? What person wants to drink so excessively that she or he experiences an alcohol overdose?
What adolescent wants to encounter alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to stop drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause difficulties in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after a person has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would an adolescent want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that revolves around irresponsible drinking?
These issues were so meaningful that I discussed some of them in class during the school year. What was completely unbelievable to me was the number of students who essentially didn't care about the injurious outcomes of hazardous drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn't care less about the facts and how these consequences can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to understand a saying that my grandfather used to emphasize throughout my younger years: "you can lead a horse to water but you can't force it to drink."
And even at my young age, I also started to realize how liberating, beneficial, and important it is to remove yourself from the unhealthy and destructive consequences of drug and alcohol abuse if you want to be successful in life.
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