Rimu Class had a fascinating day learning about Drugs, Alcohol and our Brains in the Life Education truck with Amanda and Harold. First we named all the bad drugs we knew - the goal was 20 - we got to 13! Then we looked at the definition of what a drug is,
"a chemical substance that changes the way our body works."
We looked at 3 people's stories - Amy, Jason and Rita. They all came from different backgrounds - we could all relate to them at 11 and 12 years old. For different reasons, they started with the 'gateway' drugs; drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana - this soon developed into really serious drugs, like sniffing glue and taking P (or Methamphetamine).
Their stories were so interesting, quite sad and made us realise some things...
"Choose your friends wisely - don't make silly choices"
- Cayde
"Look up from your circle - not everyone is doing drugs" - Grace
"Go your own way; don't follow each other"
- Paige
"Build a strong relationship with your family now just in case anything happens"
- Nikita
"You don't have to take drugs or alcohol to fit in - just be yourself"
- Jacob
"If you're feeling sad and feel like you don't fit in - talk to your parents"
- Bree
"If anyone asks me to take drugs I would say NO"
- Ariana
"In some situations, try not to convince yourself that the people who you hang out with really are your friends - they might be using you"
- Bella N
"Make the right choices"
- Bella P
"Choose people that respect and understand you"
- Emily
"Don't let peer pressure get to you"
- Jack
"You don't have to be a follower"
- Shukoor
"Make friends not "friends" "
- Tim
"Find something you enjoy to do and go down the right path"
- Zach
What great advice from 11, 12 and 13 year olds!
Did you know Brain Development ends at the age of 25?
We think we should be careful about putting harmful substances into our brains before then, as taking drugs and alcohol in your teenage years before our brains are fully developed makes us more likely to get addicted...and we don't want to get addicted to drugs and alcohol!
We got a great book each to take home - lots of interesting facts and activities to do in it.
We look forward to reading it and learning more about this topic, as education and feeling good about ourselves when we go to high school is KEY!
It is so important to discuss these issues as you are definitely part of a world where you need to be able to make the right decisions in what will sometimes be testing situations. If in doubt then don't and talk to someone you trust. And if you think about the people that are really 'cool' in this world, the people who make a real difference then they make the right choices. You are those people!
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