When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I registered for a drug abuse class. At that time, I did not understand that alcohol abuse actually was a sub category of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for individuals all over the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol treatment and the different alcohol rehab clinics that are frequently available to alcohol abusers.

Some of the harmful consequences correlated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class unquestionably startled me. The ruined lives and frequent problems experienced by most alcohol dependent people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. Stated briefly, I did not want to face the disaster and destruction that alcohol dependent individuals almost always experience.

Reflect on this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old person wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What teenager wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that drinking alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What teenager wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related problems before he or she becomes twenty-one?

What young person wants to encounter alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to stop drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause serious issues in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after a person has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a teenager want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that focuses on excessive drinking?

These issues were so meaningful that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was absolutely incredible to me was the number of students who openly didn’t care about the dangerous outcomes of excessive drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with the facts and how these consequences can wreck their lives. For the first time in my life I started to comprehend a saying that my grandfather used to say to me all through my younger years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.