Don’t let drug use cripple your dreams

The obstacles faced in our everyday lives can be challenging. On top of that, teenagers such as myself are surrounded by negative influences that can lead to, among other things, drug abuse. But with a connection with the community and a desire to achieve greater things in life, they can overcome the negative and be on the right path to success.

Illegal drug use has been predominant in America. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, it continues to increase, affecting 9.3 percent of people ages 12 and older. In today’s society, people use drugs for a variety of reasons. Statistics suggest that people addicted to drugs have serious physical and psychological problems that ruin their health and the environment itself. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides data that shows the average amount of drug use in Hawaii is higher than the national average.

Drug use can lead to serious medical problems and even death. Unfortunately, I myself have seen this occur. When I was around 8 or 9 years old, my grandmother suffered from a malfunction in her pacemaker. It may have been a result of an earlier addictive lifestyle. Up to this day, I have cared for her because her condition required daily care.

In our little town of approximately 6,000 people, I have personally witnessed a classmate dealing drugs to a relative. How can this be happening? How can youth avoid being consumed by events like this around them? Throughout my childhood, my sisters and I went from relative to relative because my parents were addicted to drugs and were selfish enough to not care for us. Their love for us didn’t matter. In spite of the fact that I have watched people I love destroy themselves and the lives of others, I managed to avoid drug abuse, though I could have easily participated in it.

Instead, my teachers and fellow peers helped me to choose the right path. As a strong person, I chose to look beyond the horizon. I chose to embrace the right mindset consisting of intelligence, perseverance and ambition. I was able to see the person who will one day leave the nest feeling prepared as an independent person, doing what is right for herself and others.

I chose to recognize blessings. As for my greatest blessing, my sisters and I found out that we were going to be living in our new home. We were no longer worried what we needed to take or leave behind because we finally had a place that we could call home.

Eventually, we found stability.

While the side effects of drug addiction are devastating, there are preventative measures one can take to help avoid the mistake. As a result of the destructive drug abuse by people whom I love, I wish to find a solution to society’s drug problems. I encourage the youth today to rise above the challenge and to achieve any goals they set in life. And, to never let anything stop us because we are all here for a purpose: to become a great role model and leader for yourself and others around you while focusing on the good.

Deysha Yamasaki is a senior at Kohala High School on Hawaii island.

“Raise Your Hand,” a monthly column featuring Hawaii’s youth and their perspectives, appears in the Insight section on the first Sunday of each month. It is facilitated by the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders, a local nonprofit working at the high school level to engage, equip and empower Hawaii’s homegrown future leaders to start making a difference now. For more, see CenterForTomorrowsLeaders.org