Ladies and Gentlemen you may know me as just some girl that walks around school, maybe you have heard things about me and what I may have done but I am not here to discuss what I Kayla have done in my life. Today I am here to talk to you about Drunk Driving and why it is wrong. I know many of you are probably wondering why am I Kayla Holmes talking to you about drunk driving im only 16 and in the 10th grade. But there is so much more than that. I want to tell you a story about someone most of you don’t know and never got the chance to meet.

I wanna tell each and everyone of you about my brother Jonathan Holmes no it’s not the one who played here a couple of years ago im talking about Jonathan my brother. Before I go into telling you why I wanna talk about my brother I want to tell you about some memories that not many know about I PROMISE there is a point to these memories even though some of them are embarrassing to me and may make you laugh. You see my brother Jonathan was a wonderful person He had done many things in his life including saving my life. You may all be wondering what im talking about but when I was very young I almost drowned but my brother Jonathan, Josh and Krystle were there to save me. Yes I have two brothers and a sister all who also came to East Duplin but that’s not the point. That’s only one of the stories. You see I have only memories of my brother Jonathan such as and embarrassing time for me when I was 6 years old I was with my brothers and sister on the Trampoline Jonathan was laying on it with me on his stomach tickling me while my brother Josh and sister Krystle held me down on him so I couldn’t get off!! To my luck Im a very ticklish person and they didn’t believe me and I peed on my brother Jonathan. Many of you may think this is funny or just plan out weird but I find it one of my favorite memories because my other memories are only minor such as when he would buy my pictures from me just to see me smile or even when he was leaning back in his chair and fail sad for him, his only family laughed at him!!! But you see this is only memories, you may be wondering where am I going with this and I am getting to that now…
You see these things I have told you are only memories I have or have been told when or before I was seven years old. I can’t make anymore memories because My brother Jonathan was killed. No he wasn’t a drunk, and he was a wonderful boy even played the guitar at his church. You see my brother was only 17 years old and was coming at this school setting in the very seats we are at today. But he didn’t get to finish like we will because on his way home he was killed by a drunk driver. I didn’t get to know my brother as much or say what I wanted to say to him but I got to write these poems that I would like to share to you before I go any further. IN MEMORY OF JONATHAN RAY HOLMES

My Brother My Best Friend

September 12th
Is the day I'll regret For the rest of my life the
12th I'll never forget
For on this day I lost a brother
But not only a brother My best friend
And if I could have one wish
It would to see my brother Just one more time
Just to tell him I love him
And I'm sorry for everything
I ever did wrong but I know
It will never happen so
I'll wait for the day till I can see you again
Till I can hear you play Your sweet guitar
And say I love you
And I never want to Lose you again
My brother my Best friend

Some Days

Some Days Are Worse Than Others
But I Always Have You on My Mind
Because You Were My Brother
And I Will Never Leave You Behind!!!
Some Days Are Worse Than Others
When All I Do Is Cry!
Some Days Are Worse Than Others
Because I Never Had the Chance to Say Goodbye
Some Days Are Worse Than Others
But I know Some Day Everything Will Be Alright!



You see these are to poems I have written for my brother because he was a wonderful boy and I think about him everyday and I want to inform you of what may happen if you get in that car.
I want you to know that you may think that you have everything under control when you are drunk and that you are not really drunk that is was only one or two glasses or maybe even bottles and you know you can make it home with no problem but are you so sure about that. You see that’s what many people think that it was only a few but you don’t know when you get in that car whats going to happen you don’t know if your ever going to get out of it again. I know I can’t change your mind about drinking and driving but I want you to know why I think its wrong and even tell you some facts about things that have happened with people who have drove drunk. Many people get in cars drunk and they have made the wrong choice, with the wrong choice of many today most accidents today were related with drinking and driving. Many people say its just an accident and that it wont happen again but you cant really say that because when you start drinking many people become addicted and become Alcohol dependent. Drinking you may think makes you look cool because your friends are doing it and you don’t want people to think that you are not cool but drinking does not make you cool all drinking does to your body is it slows the function of the central nervous system. Alcohol actually blocks some of the messages trying to get to the brain. This alters a person's perceptions, emotions, movement, vision, and hearing. With your perceptions, vision, and hearing not a good as normal you are not paying as much as attention as you usually would and many things can happen that you may not even remember once you are off of the Alcohol. But that’s not all Alcohol can do to you it just depend on how much you really drink. At first you may think that its relaxing you and you may be less anxious but the more alcohol you drink can cause greater changes in the brain, resulting in intoxication. People who have overused alcohol may stagger, lose their coordination, and slur their speech. And sometimes you will probably be confused and disoriented. When the use of alcohol is in your blood system you are not under control and may not be the same, it can affect you different that’s true with some people it can make them friendly and talkative or at the worse in most cases make you aggressive and angry. With this you are not thinking clearly and you may not know what you are doing you may think you are doing properly, you may not understand why you would be aggressive or angry. With your behavior changing and your thinking changing your Reaction times are slowed dramatically — which is why people are told not to drink and drive. People who are intoxicated may think they're moving properly when they're not. They may act totally out of character. There are many things that drinking does to your body that you may not think of but you should before you get in that car because you see my brother was on the way home from Beulaville when he met a drunk driver that was all over the road. And what is there to do at a time like that but slow down, and pray for the best. You may think you can handle it when you get in that car drunk but that’s not always true, things happen you can swerve all over the road or hit a tree. When you drink and drive you are putting yourself at risk of never seeing your family again, but even worse your not only putting yourself at risk but your putting people at risk from the moment you step in that car in till you get it in your drive way. So before you go out tonight or tomorrow or maybe this week end and you get drunk think about what may happen, Think about that you are putting your life in danger and you may never see your family or friends again, and also think about who else you might be putting in danger. Because you see my brother never thought that it would have been his last day here. He didn’t know that if he stepped in that car and rode down that road he would of met a drunk driver, but he did because people still get in that car and put people in danger and even take peoples life away and put people through pain so before you get in that car think about who’s life you might be taken away cause it might just be your own. Thank you!!
Kayla Holmes


BY: KAYLA ANN HOLMES