Drug Awareness Example Essays

Following are examples of award winning essays from past contests:

ROTARY CLUB OF ALVIN

8th Grade Drug Awareness Essay Contest
Example of Previous Winning Essay
 
Drugs have played a major role in my life. They have taken from my family something that can never be replaced-a life. When my aunt was only twelve years old, she was entering a whole New World, called junior high school. Junior high school can be overwhelming for kids and my aunt wanted to fit in with the “in crowd”. She wanted to be liked and trusted by the people she thought were her friends. This desire to fit in cost her, her life. Peer pressure played a huge role in my aunt's choice to take drugs. The friends that my aunt made seemed to be normal kids who decided to experiment. Less than a month after school started my aunt was sent home because they thought she was sick, but it was really the drugs, she tried for the first time, taking a toll on her life. She wouldn't tell really happened, because she was scared that she might get beat up or lose her new friends. Even as she was rushed to the hospital she never told her grandparents what caused her to get sick. My grandparents lost a daughter. Someone they had watched and loved every day for twelve years, gone, because of drugs. They would never see her graduate from high school or walk down the aisle when she was getting married. They would never see her laugh or smile again. The house got so quite after she left. This city would have been a more exciting place with her around. The day my aunt died, I lost the chance to be a niece. I lost being able to spend holidays with cousins I might have had. I lost the chance to laugh and feel loved by my aunt. My family members were affected deeply by the loss of a sister and a daughter. My mom lost a best friend. She lost a sister to share “girl talk” with, or to borrow clothes from. She lost a chance to hold an infant niece or nephew in her arms. She lost someone special in her life. My community was affected by her loss in that they now have one less potential teacher, or nurse. The community lost a potential contributing member to the nucleus of our small town. They lost someone to worship with at church, or to cheer for the local football team in the fall. My country was made a sadder place by this loss, plus thousands of others from drug abuse. We as a country have lost potential doctors, lawyers, --maybe even presidents. We have lost all the productivity that would have been possible had these tragic losses not happened. Drugs have filled our prisons with criminals who would take a life to get drugs. Drugs have cost our military the lives of soldiers, who are fighting the war against drugs. Losing someone at the age of twelve is devastating enough, but imagine the pain felt by a family wondering of they could have done or said anything to change what happened. Pay attention to those you love and make sure they understand how terrible drugs can be.


ROTARY CLUB OF ALVIN

8th Grade Drug Awareness Essay Contest
Example of Previous Winning Essay
 
To Dance Once More I sit in the audience at my dance recital with tears in my eyes. I insisted to my mother that I go, even though I will not be dancing anymore. The costumes we ordered earlier this year hang in my closet, unworn. I watch my classmates as they perform the opening number, the one I was supposed to star in. Silent tears roll down my face, and I am filled with an intense rush of anger. Only a month ago, I was accepted into the American Ballet Company in New York. Then, the accident changed everything. On graduation night, my boyfriend Joey and I decided to go to a party to celebrate. As he helped me out of the car, a group of our friends came to join us. We all walked inside and were astonished by the magnificence of our surroundings. There were colorful rays of flashing lights, countless people dancing, and music blaring from the speakers. As I headed towards the dance floor, Joey told me he would catch up with me later. I saw him walk off with a few guys I had seen around school. After my friends and I danced until our feet ached, we sat down at a nearby table. Joey still had not come to find me. I glanced at my watch and realized I promised my parents I would be home soon. Not wanting to be late, I quickly found Joey and told home we needed to leave. If I had known that Joey had just taken a hit of acid, I would have never gone with him. As we came to a red light about five miles from my home, I realized with horror that Joey wasn't slowing down. Suddenly, he began screaming about lights and colors, and them he let go of the wheel to cover his eyes. Out of control, the car veered right and crashed into a barricade. The opening number is over now. My mother is wiping the tears from my cheeks. I can see her patting my leg, although I cannot feel her touch. She asks if I want a drink. I nod, and she grasps the handles of my wheelchair and slowly pushes me out of the auditorium. I look back and imagine what it would be like to be able to dance one more time.


ROTARY CLUB OF ALVIN

8th Grade Drug Awareness Essay Contest
Example of Previous Winning Essay
 
Prescription Drugs in Alvin “This drug is for you.” Time and time again we are deluged with television, magazines and other media giving us a quick, feel good remedy. “Does you child have “acting out” problems? Do you feel down or tired for no reason? Would you like to lose weight fast?' Doctors prescribe in mass and manufacturers reap the benefits. These drugs inhabit the very medicines cabinets in Alvin. Each day when I come to school, I am aware that I might get offered drugs. It is something that every student has to deal with, they just need to know, how to say, “No.” The age old question is, “Where do the kids get the drugs.” It's not so much illegal drugs that are raging havoc on today's youth, its prescription drugs such as Ritalin, Zanax, and Zoloft. An estimated 9 million people aged 12 and older used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons in 1999; more than a quarter of that number reported using prescriptions drugs non-medically for the first time in the previous year. Doctors have diagnosed many of our students with A.D.H.D. (Attention Deficit with Hyper-Activity Disorder) Some of these diagnosed students reject taking Ritalin or other pills and sell them to kids at our school without the diagnosis. Some have said it keeps them from eating and they lose weight. These very same students have found they can sell their medications to non -A.D.H.D. kids. The effect on these students is like an amphetamine high. The A.D. H. D. students continue to have problems in school and the parents don't realize they are selling their medication. Children pilfer through medications in the parent's medicine cabinets. There, they find prescriptions such as Zanax and Zoloft, the most popular prescriptions drugs sold at the schools. These pills create a relief from stress, which most kids are looking for. Although, by using this way to relieve stress, kids are destroying brain cells as well as becoming addicted to the pill(s). This generation could make, or break the United States. The keys to a drug free country are parental involvement and love. Not only do we have to worry about the drug lords but also prescription drugs. If we want to kick drugs out of our community we need to develop the philosophy, “Not in my house, not under my roof.”


ROTARY CLUB OF ALVIN

8th Grade Drug Awareness Essay Contest
Example of Previous Winning Essay
 
My Reason My name is Crystal. I am fourteen years old. I have lived a life that involved drugs and put my family through it too. It all began when I was twelve years old. I started dating a boy, not noticing what horrible things lay a head. When I did realize what he was really like, it was much too late. I was young and impressionable. I really thought I was in love and did not want to break up with him. He opened the gate to the world of drugs for me, using the key of marijuana. At first I started smoking it only on special occasions. Then, I felt myself wanting the illegal substance more often. I ended up smoking marijuana on a daily basis. The drug use started to take over my life to the point I did not care anymore. Eventually, I found myself stealing from my friends and family to get money for my next high. I was even stealing from people I did not know. I started using stronger drugs such as cocaine and pills. I now live in Alvin, Texas. I attend ASSETS Learning Center, and I am putting my life together one step at a time. I have to try everyday to stay away from the wrong crowd and situations that would lead me to using drugs again. Is it hard? Yes, because sometimes I struggle at home. Sometimes, the problems I face make me want to pick up the drugs and take a hit. What stops me? I have found someone to live a decent life for. I have someone to get up the next morning to see. This special person is my little brother Gabriel. Gabriel is only two, and he looks up to me. Every time I think about taking drugs, I think about Gabriel. I think how I would feel if he ever used drugs. Nobody wants to see his or her younger sibling follow in these footsteps that dead down a dark, depressing road. Everyone needs someone in her life to make her change. I love my little brother and don't want him to make the same mistakes that I have. I am setting an example for Gabriel by walking down a drug-free path. If you ever think about using drugs, think about that person who may be looking up to you.