Guest Opinion

Learn about East County by watching video

By Svetlana Tskanova

, Nov 14, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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Ariel was about 16 when she got to our bigger school, it was all new to her and she wanted to be popular. Because she wanted to grow up fast, in her freshmen year she started hanging out with the popular older group. She was doing everything they were doing – trying to fit in. She knew that doing drugs and drinking was wrong, but she believed that it was the cool thing to do and that if she found other friends she would just be unpopular again. She saw her dream of school and friends disappear as the alcohol became the most important thing to her. She went to rehab to try to beat the hold that the alcohol had on her.

I am in college now and while I knew all three of these people very personally then, I have lost regular contact with them. I hope they are still plowing through their problems, that they are clean and sober, keeping their head above water. I never wanted to drink or try drugs because I understood it would impact my future. My community and my school were important, and I knew I had to work hard. My family doesn’t drink, and I saw my friends making mistakes. I hope teens think twice before they decide to take a shot, a sip or a dose. Our community needs to make the right choices to protect kids like Frank, Emily and Ariel too.

View the video Community of Choice on Channel 21 at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, to learn more about East County and how we can work together to prevent substance abuse. For more information go to www.GGAPP.org.

Svetlana Tskanova is a Centennial High School graduate and a student at Mt. Hood Community College

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