On the way to an away game at the beginning of their season, the varsity cheerleaders and the equivalent of our white guard from another Texas school were on a bus. Drinks were opened, and soon about half of the cheerleading squad and guard members were tipsy or worse. The game was cancelled, coincidentally, but the squad and guards were found out regardless. Punishments ranged from suspensions to expulsions, and some were spent to special programs. Lives were ruined, at least temporarily, because of one remarkably stupid decision.
I’m assuming that 98% of the people reading this do not go to that school, and most of us probably aren’t involved in cheerleading. The point of this is not to look at what happened and who did what, but at what our generation is participating in. It seems like fun now- the idea of intoxication is admittedly alluring. It allows you to let down walls you would not otherwise be able to, and provides for the perfect excuse when you’re caught having too much fun (thanks for that, Jamie Foxx). But what many people don’t think of in the moment they bend to peer pressure and submit to temptation is that there’s a reason we’re warned against it all our lives. There’s a reason the little voice in the back of your head is trying to talk you out of it until you drown out his shouts with Smirnoff.
In the long run, what do drinking and smoking and all that jazz actually do for us? If you think about it, the gratification is extremely short term. We get, what, maybe a few hours of mindless enjoyment in before we’re shoved back into the harsh cold reality of the real world? Granted, the harsh real world in itself may provide much of the temptation, but escaping it doesn’t help, particularly if you don’t know what went on while you were escaping. Not to mention, you’re usually left with some unpleasant side effects, probably including a wicked headache and some unanticipated sensitivity to light. Undoubtedly, the embarrassing stories, physical pain, and potential loss of friends met up with after a night of getting smashed is not the way most would like to remember their weekend; it’s a shame that the memories of fun disappear. In the meantime, there is a loss of brain cells, respect, friends, and most importantly, time that we can absolutely never get back. Right now, this second is the only time this second will ever happen. No one can rewind time. Do we really prefer to waste it ruining what we have?
We have been brought up with people telling us over and over again that we can do whatever we want with our lives, that no dreams are too big for the likes of us. As elementary schoolers, this was amazing information. We would dream of becoming firefighters and singers and doctors, and imagine that nothing could stop us. While these dreams have changed and become more refined for some, the opportunities to do what we want with ourselves are still there. The problem is that many of us have become disenchanted and believe that dreams are separate from reality. The truth is that what our parents and teachers and administrators and every other adult told us was a lie- there is something stopping us. It’s fear and our pride, coupled with our personal inhibitions about what we can and can’t do. As admittedly cliché as it sounds, the barrier lying between what we want our lives to be and what our lives are is nothing more than ourselves.
So after you’ve finished reading this, you’ll go through your week, and a weekend will roll around. You might stay home and hang out with your friends and watch movies and laugh at stupid things, or you might go to a party. You might get drunk, and you might do something stupid. It really is a simple choice. The question now is, what decision will you make?