Allena O.

D.A.R.E. Essay

At the end of the D.A.R.E. program, we were asked to write an essay about what we learned this year and why the D.A.R.E. program is an important part of our education. First, I learned that D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. In D.A.R.E. class, I learned about how alcohol is illegal to drink if you are under the age of 21. There are also 75,000 alcohol related deaths each year in the U.S. Alcohol can be very harmful. Two health effects of alcohol are loss of self-control and memory loss. It can also cause you to have slow reflexes, poor judgement, and loss of coordination. One other topic we talked about this year in D.A.R.E. is smoking. Cigarettes have 200 known chemicals. When you smoke cigarettes, it can result in yellow teeth and bad breath and can cause lung cancer. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in this country.

Some things I really, really like this year were the games we played such as D.A.R.E baseball! Another thing I enjoyed about D.A.R.E. was Officer Mark. He is funny and makes jokes all the time. He also makes learning fun! I liked the videos we watched; they were very realistic and entertaining. One other thing I liked was looking through my D.A.R.E. notebook. I also LOVED the cute little lion that goes by the name of "Daren." I think the name was very clever because it is the mascot of D.A.R.E. and it is easy to remember.

We also learned the D.A.R.E. decision making model which is an acronym for Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate. We use these steps to make good decisions. For instance, we describe the problem. Then we think about the choices we have and make a choice. And finally we review our decision to see if it is a good one.

Another very important topic in D.A.R.E. was learning about the negative effects of smoking and tobacco. Not only is smoking very unhealthy, it is also illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 (19 in some states). More than 400,000 Americans die each year from tobacco-related causes. Nicotine in cigarettes and chewing tobacco reduces the amount of blood that flows to the brain. This interferes with the way the brain works. Chewing tobacco can also cause mouth cancer, tooth loss, and other health problems. It is not very good for you!

Officer Mark also taught us about stress and how to calm down when we are feeling stressed. He told us that when are feeling stressed, the best possible ways to calm down are breathing slowly and counting down from 10. These strategies can really help when you are feeling upset or find yourself in a stressful situation.

Lastly and most importantly, I pledge to always make good decisions by trying my best to use the D.A.R.E. decision-making model.  I also pledge to never smoke cigarettes!