Monday, May 1, 2017

Prom Week: Day One

It's one of the most exciting weeks of the school year: spirit days, early dismissals, and Prom on Friday night.  Example sees it as the perfect time to encourage students to make intelligent, God-pleasing decisions and not drink or use drugs during Prom weekend.

Example has numerous activities and events to accomplish that goal.  Today, Emily and Charles explained to the student body why they are not drinking or using drugs during Prom weekend and encouraged those attending to do the same. It's inspiring to see students demonstrate their leadership as they impact their community.

Hello, my name is Emily and at the end of my senior year, I’m excited about a lot of things, one of those being prom, and I bet I could say the same for everyone else going. The reason I’m talking to you today is because every single one of us has to make a decision. But I’m not going to tell you why should make the decision not to drink, because I don’t know you, I don’t know your life, or what’s important to you. Only you know that and only you can make that decision for yourself. And I’m not even going to try to convince you with reasons why I think you shouldn’t drink, because, most likely, my reasons don’t apply to you. But I’m up here to tell you how I came to the decision to not drink on prom night.
Yes, I have parents and teachers who tell me not to drink, but ultimately I have to make the decision myself. So here are some of the reasons why I am not drinking at prom.
So, I’m on the soccer team, and you know, we’re a really good team. We have a chance of going far with the talent we have. And I’m excited. I’m too excited to play soccer to throw it all away for one night of drinking at Prom. I want to be on that team. I don’t want to miss one game. I’ve had to miss more than my fair share of games because of injuries and I’m not about to take the slightest chance of missing any more. And it’s not just about me, I have my teammates to think about. It’s not fair to them if I put the rest of the season on the line just so I can drink on Prom night.
I’m also looking forward to this summer. I’m looking forward to working at a summer camp for kids to make some money before I go off the school. I’m excited; I just got this job two weeks ago, but they still have to do a background check on me, and me choosing to drink at Prom this Friday could take that job right away from me.
Also this summer my sister Danielle is getting married. I am so excited for that. I can’t wait to be a bridesmaid and celebrate with everyone.  I don’t want to miss that. I don’t want to risk the chance of not being there with my sister on one of the most important days of her life just so I can drink on Prom night.

There’s so much I have to look forward to, and I don’t want to miss any of those things, or have any of them taken away from me because I decided to drink one night. The thing is it might not happen, but it could happen, and I don’t want to take that risk. It’s just not worth it to me. So that’s me, but that’s not you. So what’s important to you, what are you looking forward to? And ask yourself is drinking on Prom night worth the risk of missing out on any of those things?



Hello, I'm Charles and Prom is Friday and my advice to you is if you go to the after party, and people are pressuring you into drinking, say no. That’s tough but you should do it. When you say no, you, personally, think it is a huuuuuge deal. And the people who are pressuring you think it is too… Until the next morning because they don’t even remember the encounter. If you need an excuse, say you are driving or say you don’t feel good.
You can have fun without drinking.  I promise. We do it every day at school and at practice and at our buddies’ house where we laugh and joke and screw around.  

What about Prom makes us think we can only drink to have fun?

That just isn’t true and my hope is that you realize that. When you choose not to drink at Prom, you are taking the most common option, even if you feel alone in that decision. I promise there are more people who don’t drink than you might think. When you choose not to drink at prom, you are making the smartest decision because you are focused on your life beyond the three-hour window at the party. And when you choose not to drink at prom, you are most importantly making a God pleasing decision. Thank you and have fun at Prom.