1st Place

Vivian Le
8th grade
Jessieville Middle School

     What do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor – a lawyer – or maybe even a rock star! You could realize all those longtime dreams of yours – anything is possible after all – but, not on drugs. Drugs, most of the time illegal, will tear down your life, make you sick, and worst of all, halt your potential to do your best in life. Without the influence of drugs on your physical and mental health, you will be able to succeed in life.

      There used to be a commercial on TV sponsored by the Partnership for a Drug Free America (PDFA) that showed your brain as an egg – then WHAM! Sent the egg cracking in to a frying pan, cooking and sizzling; this was your brain on drugs. This showed what happens to your brain – and rest of your body when you abuse drugs; your mind will not be able to function and your body will begin to deteriorate. Heroin causes its users to become dependent on it to live; the more they want the drug, the more they begin to ignore their own health to obtain it. Cocaine will also cause users to lose interest in their daily lives and side effects include paranoia and anxiety. When you want to achieve a goal that you have set, doing drugs will only bring you down and make it infinitely harder for you to reach your goal.

      Rarely in life are people who use drugs successful. Some may argue that movie stars/rock stars use drugs and they are successful, but exactly how long does their success last? Those stars are never stars for long. People, such as, Leonardo DiCaprio, star of the Oscar winning Titanic, and teen actress, Keke Palmer, have both found lasting success without drugs. In fact, both have spoken out against the use of drugs. If you don’t use drugs, people will take you more seriously. This will open many more roads for you to choose from in life than if you abuse illegal substances.

      To live a drug-free life, you must surround yourself with people who have positive morals. If you hang out with someone who drinks or snorts cocaine, they will affect other people’s view of you and may even influence you to start abusing drugs yourself. Listen to your parents when they tell you what is good and bad; they know what they are talking about. Because media has been glamorizing drug use, you must be able to tell fact from fiction.

      Being drug-free is not an instant key to success, but it is a stepping stone on the journey towards it. Without its influence on your mind and body – and without the influence of those who abuse it around you – the road to reaching your dreams will be much easier. After all, success is not measured by grams of cocaine or tables of ecstasy, but instead, hard work, determination, and perseverance.