Make Smart Decisions.

"Haimatox" (haimatox) 06/08/2015 at 09:12 • Filed to: None

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WARNING: This post is going to have a strong whiff of high school drama, but the lesson at the end can be learned by anybody.

Friday was my high school’s Senior Gala, which is basically our version of the Senior Prom, but less formal (which I’m perfectly fine with). It’s a fun time, with good(ish) food, music, dancing, and great friends. If you recall back to your high school days, I’m sure many of the social events had alcohol involved in some way, whether somebody had a party afterwards or if someone spiked the punch (I’m not sure if that’s actually something that ever happened or not). Now I’m sure that some parts of this story may have your eyes rolling, but as I said earlier, there’s a point to this.

Alcohol can do funny things to people like make them complete scumbags. My good friend, let’s call him John, asks a girl, let’s call her Jen, from a different school district to Gala. John knows Jen from church, and they have been friends for quite a while. There’s another girl, let’s call her Jess, who is also friends with both of them. Here’s the interesting bit: Jen arrives at the Gala hammered. I could smell it on her breath, and she told me straight up. John, who is an innocent, upstanding citizen, doesn’t notice.

Poor John. Jen is blowing him off all night long (damn that sounds weird), and he’s just taking it. He’s being as polite as he possibly can given the situation. As the Gala was coming to a close, my friends and I decide to break the news to him, and the look on his face was heartbreaking. I could see the trust he had in Jen just evaporate into the air. Jess, Jen, and a few other people go out the side entrance, where there are no chaperones watching, to one of the cars in the parking lot. Sketchy, I know. They return fifteen minutes later, and appear to be somewhat intoxicated (I’ve been told there was a bottle of vodka in the car). By this point, John is onto them. Jess announces an impromptu party at her house afterwards, and invites John to join them. They get into a small argument, and this is where the moral of the story lies.

He declines, because he is an intelligent human being . He knows that they are not fit to drive, and that packing eight people into a five-person car is not safe. He tries to convince them to let somebody sober drive, but to no avail. So he does the smart thing and doesn’t go with them. He calls his father to pick him up. I give him the utmost amount of props, and the highest of fives. It takes a strong individual to say no. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised by how many people ignore common sense.

I should add that everybody arrived at their destination safely. I will also add that I am furious at Jess. It’s one thing to make your friend feel left out. It’s another to make a terrible decision that could seriously injure people. Most Opponauts are of legal drinking age and are responsible drinkers, but to those who aren’t both, please, for the sake of all that’s good in the world, think twice.

I should add that this also serves to show that there are responsible teenagers. We aren’t all reckless assholes.

$kaycog > Haimatox 06/08/2015 at 09:20

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“Make Smart Decisions.” Well said. Your friend, John, did just that.

Party-vi > Haimatox 06/08/2015 at 09:20

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Should have grabbed the driver’s keys and had their parents pick them up.

/totallydidn’tdrivedrunkatmyprom

/getoffmylawn

ToyDeathbot > Haimatox 06/08/2015 at 09:36

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Wow, mad props to that guy. He’s gonna get somewhere in life.

Over here, there’s zero tolerance for driving under the influence of alcohol if you’re under 20. That means loss of license, heavy fines and jail time. And the thought of that alone reduces teenage stupidity to a smallish amount. Even those who are over 20 should be drinking at their own limits, not what the law dictates. I know some people who get tipsy after only one beer.

Leon711 > ToyDeathbot 06/08/2015 at 09:45

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KatzManDu > Haimatox 06/08/2015 at 09:49

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A+ on your bro. Hopefully in the fallout parents and his friends see his true value.

Haimatox > ToyDeathbot 06/08/2015 at 10:55

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If anything, I’m just really disappointed with “Jess.” I never would have thought she was that kind of person.

Haimatox > Party-vi 06/08/2015 at 10:58

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I wasn’t there for most of the engagements, so I had no say in what happened. That says even more about John, since he didn’t need any convincing to say no.

Haimatox > $kaycog 06/08/2015 at 11:00

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I’m really proud to say that he’s my friend. I like to hold good people close to my heart, and let their positive attributes rub off on me.

Haimatox > KatzManDu 06/08/2015 at 11:01

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Oh I’m sure his parents do. I hope the others come around soon.

$kaycog > Haimatox 06/08/2015 at 11:10

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Absolutely! He’s the kind of person you want to be a friend for life.

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > Haimatox 06/08/2015 at 11:15

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My parents made it clear to my younger brother and me (back when we were teens) that if we were ever out late and felt unsafe in a social situation, we could call them for a ride home, no questions asked. I never had to take them up on their offer, but it was reassuring to have it in mind nonetheless.

Props to John.