Name:
Gabrielle Kisner
High School:
Richmond Heights High School
Essay:
Grace Chamberlain was the salutatorian of the Class of 2005. One conversation with her was enough to know that she was genuinely caring. One night in her freshman year of college, Grace was riding home with two of her friends when their car was hit by a man who was driving drunk. Grace was immediately killed. If this can happen when an adult, one who is supposed to be a skilled driver, drives drunk, imagine how much worse a similar situation would be if a teenager, who is less accustomed to driving, were responsible.
According to http://kidshealth.org/, alcohol 'alters a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing.' When these faculties are handicapped, a car accident is practically inevitable. Death or serious injury can result, not only for the driver, but for anyone else on the road. Should the driver survive and the others not, he/she is almost guaranteed to live a life haunted by guilt and regret for the careless destruction of innocent people's lives. This could very easily lead to insanity and depression.
The best way for me to encourage others not to drink and drive is to follow my own advice. Who knows? Maybe if they see me being responsible, they will follow suit. If I notice that someone is drunk or drinking, I can give them a ride home. Finally, I can organize my own parties or hangouts without alcohol as an alternative for friends who like to drink.
Families, including mine, can do a lot to discourage teen drunk driving. Again, the best way to start is to set a positive example. Having serious discussions about drinking and driving is another useful preventative measure. Parents can also enforce punishments for drinking, like taking away driving privileges. I have a few very dear friends who seem to drink alcohol like it is water. A very powerful way that my family and I can help to keep them from drinking is to make them feel like a part of our family. Many teenagers drink because they want to 'look cool' or need to escape the pain of their lives at home. If we can make them feel that they belong and are loved, they will feel less inclined to resort to alcohol for support.
As a community, we can form a Teen Alcoholics Anonymous. It would be a place where teen drinkers could connect with each other and hold each other accountable to stop drinking. They could be introduced to people who have been affected by teen drunk driving to understand the importance of being responsible. We can push for laws that hold parents accountable when their teens drive under the influence. Finally, we can work to make simulated drunk driving a prerequisite for obtaining a driver's license.
If we put all of these ideas to use, we would be able to save so many lives. Beyond that, we can only pray that our teens will make wise decisions.
