What I Learned About Alcohol Dependency and Drug Addiction in High School

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When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I enrolled into a drug abuse class. At that age, I did not realize that alcohol abuse actually was a sub division of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse, 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 through the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol rehab and the diverse alcohol rehab centers that are often available to people who engage in hazardous drinking.

Some of the damaging effects associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class undeniably frightened me. The ruined lives and abundant problems experienced by most alcohol dependent people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. Stated briefly, I did not want to face the damage and destruction that alcohol dependent individuals almost always experience.

Photo by Marion Doss

Ponder upon this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old individual wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What teenager wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that drinking alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What teen wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related difficulties before he or she becomes twenty-one?

What young person wants to experience 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 serious issues 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 a teenager want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that revolves around abusive drinking?

These issues were so important that I talked about some of them in class throughout the school year. What was downright incredible to me was the number of students who openly didn’t care about the negative 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 shatter their lives. For the first time in my life I started to comprehend a saying that my grandfather used to emphasize throughout my younger years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

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