Why did I start drinking? It wasn't because I had a bad home life. I started drinking because I had a bad social life. I wanted to belong. These new friends welcomed me with open arms and open bottles. It didn't matter that my body couldn't tolerate liquor that I threw up and had terrible headaches. I could bear the rejection of my body, but I kept on drinking because I couldn't bear the rejection of my new friends. I wouldn't listen to anyone. My grades suffered. My family suffered. Then one day, in assembly, a kid not too much older than us came to talk to us about how he ruined his life drinking.. all because he wanted to belong. He told us to ask ourselves one question, honestly. Were those friends worth a lifetime of sorrow? And to listen to the answer really carefully. This time I did listen. And you know what? Those so-called friends, they didn't even know I was gone.
--Raleigh, Carefree