Johnson Attorneys Group’s Never Drink and Drive Scholarship finalist, Evan C. is enrolled at Texas Christian University.
He is one of several finalists chosen by our law firm for the annual competition every spring. Our friends at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in California will share the name of the winner on Friday. We are sharing the stories from some of our finalists throughout the week.
“This week is spring break for many college-aged students and we hope to bring awareness to young people and encourage them to never drink and drive,” said Attorney James Johnson, founder of Johnson Attorneys Group.
Here is the essay submission from Jessica for the Johnson Attorneys Group scholarship competition.:
Think Before We Drink: It Starts in Our Heads
I don’t want to die. I don’t want my friends or family to die. I don’t want innocent bystanders to die. This is what I tell myself any time I’m about to do something I shouldn’t do while driving. And these are the thoughts that need to go through the brains of my friends and peers any time we are tempted to do something that could risk our lives or the lives of others, such as drinking and driving. All behaviors, good or bad, start as thoughts in our heads.
We have to show the types of bad things that can potentially happen if teens drink and drive, and how their lives and others can be devastated or gone in an instant. The goal is to make teens like me think to themselves, “If I drive home from this party drunk, I could kill myself and my friends” because then we can decide: Is it worth it? Would I want to go to jail? Would I want to make my parents sad for the rest of their lives if I died or was disabled? Would my friends’ parents ever forgive me? These thoughts need to be the first thing we think about before getting in the car. It only takes one time being drunk or impaired for this to happen.
Unfortunately, the problem is deeply rooted in our everyday lives. I’ve seen adults leave a party and drive home when they probably shouldn’t. Our parents need to be better role models. There’s no excuse now that there are now better solutions for these situations that didn’t exist in the past, such as using Uber and Lyft. Parents can make sure their kids have a prepaid account with these rideshare services. Kids watch what their parents do and learn behaviors from them, both good and bad.
My suggestion would be to make a video showing a young person’s whole life ahead of them, as they envision all the milestones and happiness they could have. Then show that same person in a drunk driving accident, followed by a scene of a casket and funeral. The casket could represent them, a passenger, or an innocent bystander but the result is that someone will not fulfill their life’s journey and many people will be saddened forever.
I don’t want to die, I don’t want my friends and family to die, and I don’t want innocent bystanders to die. There’s a lot to live for. We teens have a lot going on in our heads but switching gears to that kind of thinking once we’re in the driver’s seat is how we get teens like myself to be “think before we drink” drivers.
Johnson Attorneys Group is a personal injury law firm with offices throughout California. Our firm is proud to be a longtime supporter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Our annual spring essay competition – the Never Drink and Drive Scholarship –is open to California students or students attending a California college. Read the full details on our website.
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