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Choose one of the student or adult testimonials from the available testimonies.
Please be advised that these are actual testimonials from actual people experiencing the impact of under-age alcohol abuse in their lives. All testimonies vary and are reflections of the personal lifestyle choices and opinions of that particular person. Their stories have not been modified in any way.
I'm a non-drinker
Adrian is a 19 year-old college sophomore who does not drink because he says he respects his parents too much. He has also seen the negative consequences of drinking through situations in his family, losing an uncle and dealing with a cousin.
In his spare time, he tries to mentor his young nephew into a non-drinking lifestyle. He also says that his true friends are people who understand and accept that he does not drink.
I'm a non-drinker
Bow Wow wants everyone to know that he is alcohol free. He credits that to his upbringing and the fact that he knows that he could not be involved in all the things he wants to because alcohol would bring him down. He says, "If I were to drink and do stuff like that, I couldn't do it. It's like your whole body would just kind of shut down and you just couldn't do it. If you're going to do anything in life, don't drink at all."
He goes on to say that drinking is not cool and that the people who he surrounds himself with also don't drink. "If you're young, there's so much stuff that you could be doing that the same people your age are doing, like having fun, basketball, movies. There's just so many other things in life to do, especially at a young age and you can just ruin everything for your whole life."
If you would like more information on Bow Wow, go to [www.lilbowwow.com]
I'm recovery
Jeff is a 17 year-old recently released from a treatment center for drug and alcohol abuse. Although Jeff is very vocal about his battles with alcohol and the negative consequences that come from it, he still admits that there is a struggle to use, stating that this is the nature of the addiction.
He has still not finished high school and is trying to live on his own. He says that he invites everyone to be a leader and not a follower and start something positive. "Everybody has so much potential and shouldn't waste it on drinking."
I'm a drinker
Katie is an 18 year old has been arrested three times for underage consumption. She says, "I'm in denial. I've come up with every excuse in the book and I realize that I have to slow down."
She also says that she believes America has a huge problem because of the wide acceptance of alcohol and America many times doesn't see the negative impact alcohol has on people.
I'm recovery
Laura is a 17 year-old who started drinking when she was 10. She says that the first time she drank, she was at a friend's house and got into the liquor cabinets.
She has tried to commit suicide on three different occasions because of her drinking. She is scared for the other young people who drink, especially Matt and Katie. She said, "Just listening to them talk, it made me really scared for them. They sound like great people."
I’m a drinker
Matt, who is now 20 years-old, picked up his first DUI when he was 19. He admits that he might have a problem with alcohol and would not want his little brother or sister drinking. He says that he would "tell them the truth about what it leads to and what harm it does and the things that they're risking that they don't even realize."
At first, he watched over his friends who were drinking and stayed sober but then took the first drink out of curiosity and decided to drink when everyone else was sober so he could act crazy. He says that he learned from his treatment center a very important lesson, "Alcohol is not a medicine to help you or give you relief. It's a depressant and it doesn't make you feel all that much better."
I'm a non-drinker
Melvin is an 18 year-old who likes sports and being an example to young people. He says that it is important for older kids to set a good example to the younger kids. "If you see a high schooler that everybody knows in the community, the kids are going to look up to him and the kids see that he's not drinking or anything - then they're going to want to do what he's doing."
He also says that he and his friends have made up a list of 200 things they can do when they get bored, and "these things are more fun than drinking anyway," he says.
I wish I weren't but I'm a drinker
Jonathon is serving a nine-year prison sentence in an Ohio correctional facility for hitting a 24 year-old man in the head with a pool stick after a night of drinking, killing him.
Jonathon said he drank every weekend and did a lot of embarrassing things while drunk. He says, "When I get out, I want to get married, settle down, have a nice family, have the nice things. I don't want to be spending all of my money on alcohol and coming home with my family looking at me like I was a piece of crap."
Jonathon says that the prison time has actually had a positive effect on him, in regards to his drinking, even vowing, "When I get out, I won't ever drink again because I know all the bad stuff will start all over."
I'm in recovery
Ramieka is a 16 year-old who started drinking when she was 11 and quit when she was 14. She said that she began drinking because of the stress that was going on in her life. Her mother needed treatment and she was not supportive of Ramieka, so Ramieka turned to alcohol as a means to cope with her pain. It just brought more bad situations for her.
Along with getting raped, she was also skipping school, getting in trouble with the law and hurting her family in the process.
She tells young people now, "The first drink is always the start of something that could become horrible or it could be your last. You're never quite sure what your first drink is going to bring you."
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