The Importance Of DARE

By Ally Kirk

I think DARE is an important step of my life because it told me to stay away from dangerous things like sniffing glue, smoking, or abusing alcohol. They are dangerous because it ruins your life, and you can’t do anything about it. Once you start smoking, it’s really hard to stop. It is hard to get rid of your smoking habit because in the cigarette, there is a little something called nicotine. This is an object that addicts you to the cigarette that you are smoking. That is also what they have in tobacco.

Detective T. has been a good role model for us. He taught us all how to say no to peer pressure, whether your stress level goes up or down, about self-esteem, and about how to stay away from gangs and other bad people. Detective T. has also been a good role model for us because he is honest, and brave to go to Hartford and arrest the person who robbed the Newtown bank a couple weeks ago.

Someone I know smokes, and whenever I go near them, it smells horrible! You could tell that they smoke right from the start! It is also bad because they have kids, and if they keep smoking, their kids could end up being very sick in the hospital, or even dying because they have been around their parents for a long time.

So, the results prove that not only does smoking and sniffing glue hurt you, but they can hurt other people too.

Some television shows are bad for children to watch. These television episodes almost try to encourage kids to smoke, smell glue, chew tobacco, or abuse alcohol. My brothers like to watch The Simpsons.

Sometimes on these shows, they show characters getting drunk, smoking cigarettes, and chewing tobacco. That is a bad example for kids, or anyone who ever watches these shows. Then children will start doing these things to try to be like these characters. Hopefully, when my brothers watch those shows, they will be smart enough to say no when someone offers them a cigarette, or a beer when under the age of 21.

My life decision is made up! I will never do drugs or alcohol! I’ve heard stories about killings at schools. Some say that that was caused by kids drinking alcohol. I never want to do that. If my friends smoke, I will try to get them out of the habit. If they don’t want to, then it’s their fault. They can choose.

In my future, I will try to be friends with good people. I will try to stay away from people who smoke or do drugs because then they will try to get me into doing drugs and smoking. I will also never be in a gang. I hope everybody who has taken DARE will make the same decision I did. Kids won’t get into a good college if they smoke, sniff glue, chew tobacco, or abuse alcohol. My parents are very strict on education. They would want me to go to a good college where people do not smoke, chew tobacco, abuse alcohol, or anything like that. If people want this to be a better and safer world, then don’t do things like these.