Outstanding essay read by Brister says it all

DARE officer Wanda Brister read one essay by a student who needed to remain anonymous:

When I started DARE I thought I was in for a boring next few weeks, but I was wrong. I also thought my parents wouldn't sign the sheet because they are both major alcoholics.

As the next weeks went on I started to get more and more interested. What really caught my attention was the DARE box. It amazed me that a busy police officer had time to read my feelings and thoughts.

I really think that a DARE book to fill in and keep was a great idea. I hope other kids are sharing what they have learned with their parents.

I was kind of shy at first when it came to telling my own. So if this is your first time tell your parents everything.

If you're like me and are a little scared, do what I did and tell them without them noticing that you really want them to know this.

For instance, take the "drunk goggles" day. We tried on goggles that made you feel drunk. While wearing them we tried to do certain things that normally were easy.

I went home and watched my dad drink three beers and then challenged him to do them. He could not. This made me very sad. He couldn't even put his arms out and then touch his nose. This is very easy for a normal person to do.

I also told a friend of my mom that about 3,000 people die from second-hand smoke every year, and now she does not smoke around me or her children. Just knowing that I helped someone is great. I hope others are helping too.

In DARE I learned about alcohol, cigarettes, chewing tobacco and marijuana. About cigarettes I learned

smoking causes bad breath, more colds, heart disease and all kinds of cancer.

We also learned about alcohol giving you dizzy spells. We learned about marijuana being twice as bad as cigarettes. I hope others learned as much as I did.