Johnson Attorneys Group Never Drink and Drive Essay
By Travis Stube
Drunk driving and alcoholism have been passed down in my family more times than our last name from generation to generation. At the young age of 8 years old, I remember it clear as day when I fell asleep at my kitchen table with my suitcase by the front door waiting for my dad to take me to my uncles house for a “guys weekend.”
After 2 hours of waiting for him past his scheduled arrival time, the tiredness took over. Rather than tiredness for him, the alcohol took over not only his mind, body, and vehicle, but also his priorities that night. As my mom sent me to bed, I was excited to wake up and thought that my dad was just having fun at his class reunion party right down the road.
As I began my normal morning routine, something was off and I noticed this when my mom was sitting on the couch and looked like she had been crying all night. Probably because she was. My dad was arrested for DUI after crashing his car through an airport fence and blowing a .23. The question I ask myself even to this day, is why was a liquid beverage more important than the plans one would make with an 8-year-old boy who looked up to their father?
Drunk driving and alcoholism are, next to suicide, the most selfish decision one could make. I know this firsthand, because those 2 hours of waiting for him at the table felt like an eternity for me. After this time had passes and my parents were suffering from a recent marriage divorce, my family was absolutely torn apart between moving homes to live with mom or dad and hearing the constant arguments.
With alcoholism running through my family like the blood that runs through my body, my dad made a bet with my brothers and I that if we didn’t drink until the legal age of 21, that he would hand over $1,000 on our 21st birthdays. After having this event traumatize me up until this day and potentially for the rest of my life, I am the only one who is eligible for this bet, as I have not had a drop of alcohol.
Wanting to be the change in our family and to not have others think of the “Stube men” as alcoholics, I have decided to not drink, and would rather put that $1,000 towards my education in wanting to become a male elementary educator and positively influence children to make the right decisions in life. With this scholarship, it would help me financially to lead children down the right path in and out of the classroom. Thank you for your time and consideration in my application.
Travis Stube is studying English & Elementary Education at Grand Valley State University
Pat Rillera, Regional Executive Director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Southern California, will be selecting our winner by the end of this week.
