With Tolo just behind us, the stories came in pretty quick about the after-parties and everything that went down. Honestly, I wish the kids on the Island would pay more attention to the shit they’re putting in their bodies. After googling MIHS for my sister who’s going to be a freshman next year, I found a lot of reviews that went along these lines: Academics are great, sports are great, community is great, but with the amount of alcohol/drug abuse on the island and the general lack of concern from parents and community members, I can’t recommend the school. And although I wouldn’t go that far, I hate how big of an issue abuse is on the Island and how pathetically it’s addressed. I don’t want to put my sister into that kind of environment any more than I want to be in that kind of environment. The most common excuse I hear is “Oh, well everyone’s doing it.” No, not everyone’s doing it and even if they were, at the end of the day you’re responsible for what you put in your body. It’s like our generation is substituting oxygen with smoke and replacing water with beer. I’m not going to judge anyone’s character because I know plenty of people who smoke/drink and have amazing personalities (that’s just a part of MI), but I wish they’d take care of themselves. At the end of the day, they’re my friends above anything else, and I naturally worry about them. I just want them to be safe and make good decisions, but everyone knows how hard that is when you’re drunk or high. I don’t even know why I care, but I do. Anyway, this is getting kind of long and I’m just rambling on so I’ll just end it here.

Stay safe, everyone.