Some of the damaging outcomes related to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class unquestionably scared me. The ruined lives and countless difficulties experienced by most alcohol dependent individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. That is, I did not want to face the wreckage and devastation that alcohol dependent people almost always experience.

Ponder upon this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old person wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What teenager wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that drinking alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What adolescent wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related issues before he or she becomes twenty-one?

What adolescent wants to encounter alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would a person engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause problems in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after a person has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that centers on hazardous drinking?

These issues were so meaningful that I discussed some of them in class during the school year. What was totally incredible to me was the number of students who basically didn’t care about the negative outcomes of excessive drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with reality and how these outcomes can demolish their lives. For the first time in my life I started to comprehend something that my grandfather used to emphasize throughout my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.