My High School Substance Abuse Class

When I was a sophomore in high school, I enrolled into a substance abuse class. At that age, I did not understand that alcohol abuse in reality was a sub category 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 individuals all over the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol treatment and the different alcohol rehab clinics that are habitually available to problem drinkers.

Some of the harmful results associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class certainly worried me. The ruined lives and many problems experienced by most alcoholics made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. That is, I did not want to face the disaster and ruination that alcohol addicted individuals almost always encounter.

Think about this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old teenager 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 ingesting 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 issues before he or she becomes an adult?

What adolescent wants to encounter alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to quit 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 a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that focuses on irresponsible drinking?

These issues were so meaningful that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was downright unbelievable to me was the number of students who simply didn’t care about the harmful effects of irresponsible drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with reality and how these results can demolish their lives. For the first time in my life I started to figure out a saying that my grandfather used to say to me all through my younger years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.