I’m sitting here with a poster in front of me that reads, “Kissing a Smoker Is like Licking an Ashtray.” Many kids get majorly affected, mentally and physically, by their family members, role models and even older siblings abuse of substances. Many people continue to use drugs because it makes them forget about everything that is going on in the world; it makes them happy, but yet slowly kills their cells and bonds with the people who love them. I know this from experience.
A person who is supposed to be very close to me (my mother) abuses drugs and tobacco, like no other. Ever since I was little I’ve known what she was doing; trying to escape the pains. I had to watch her take more and more pills every day, more than what were prescribed. Stronger drugs have been given to her now. She takes more and more every day, in result, she and I are now enemies. Our family is no longer a loving one. Our house is no longer a safe one. Our world is no longer a happy one.
She walks around with an eerie wrench of smoke, a frail memory of anything, and a power that can scare anyone. Who knows what she will do next; yell at you, beat you, threaten you. Even she doesn’t know. Every time I look at her a “CAUTION: WET FLOOR” sign pops into the back of my head. You never know how wet the floor may be today, tomorrow or even the next day. You never know where you will be; at your sister’s house, crying, in your room, hiding, or even outside, just walking away, away being as far as away can get. Living a life of not knowing isn’t a life at all.
It’s contagious; it spreads like a wild fire that has a never ending amount of trees. My sister is now a drug abuser, tobacco abuser, and an alcohol abuser. The fights never end between she and I. Unnecessary fights have left us not talking many times all because of her choice. Her choice has caused her to have many consequences. One being, not having a sister that is there for her 24/7, a sister that will give her a shoulder to cry on, or a best friend to tell everything to. Don’t let the wild fire spread.
You, being a teacher, parent, sibling, or friend can stop this. No kid deserves to not have someone there for them when they really need them. Because of that, too many child hoods have been ruined already, no more should be. Children don’t deserve to be treated like abandoned trash. It’s not fair, it’s cruel. In other words, if someone is doing drugs, alcohol, or tobacco then stop them! It makes a difference in many people’s lives. It’s hard for many people to realize that they are doing the wrong thing; it takes someone else’s will to help them and stop them. After all, the abused substances won’t be there forever, and nor will the people abusing the substances.