I believe I’ve made this clear to a lot of people I know. Honestly, I have no respect for those who drink, smoke, or do drugs. There are girls who are my friends on Facebook and I see their pictures being the most commented on. What are the pictures of? Beer pong, chugging down one beer of the whole case, looking out of their mind wasted, or just a interesting looking picture of the smoke caught in the air from that person who smoked.

I know parents have said to just say ‘no because it makes you better than them who didn’t’, and although most of us don’t listen to mom and dad on this case, I do have to agree with the parents. I see somebody smoking even the smallest of the cigarettes, and it’s almost as if my respect level for them just dropped to zero.

Tonight, I was coming back from a movie with my boyfriend as we ran into a couple of friends. Their eyes were red and they just asked us to join them to smoke a joint. I was silent, looking at these people who I’ve known for a while…not believing these people, my friends, really smoked.

Getting your hands on alcohol or drugs isn’t hard nowadays. We have drug dealers and fake IDs. I’ve been asked to smoke a few times, and my answer is simple: “No, I don’t do that stuff.”

I’m not sure how the asker feels when I say this, but hopefully, they’ll respect me for it. People who I know who have smoked specifically weed told me to never try it. It’s a bad habit and hard to get out of. I tell them I was never planning to try, and they always reply: “that’s good.”

I wouldn’t know what it’s like. But, I’m guessing once you begin, it’s like an addiction after the second or third hit. Maybe it’s the same with alcohol. I’ve heard rumors that girls in my school fill their water bottles with Vodka. This is ridiculous; what are they going to do, get drunk in school and get expelled?

I have respect for everybody until they give me a reason to think otherwise. I will never become an addict to smoking or drinking. I will stay sober and be proud of myself.