By HDN Staff
Our congratulations and best wishes to all the students who graduate this weekend.
Years of work and study have paid off, and you are all now at the threshold of a new part of your life. Especially with the opportunities offered by the new, constantly changing economy, your possibilities are endless.
Don't risk what the future offers you by risking it all this weekend. Remember, more is at stake than your own driving and criminal record if you decide to celebrate with drugs or alcohol this weekend.
That part of it is significant. A minor-in-possession ticket can affect the cost of insurance, or even if you can get it at all. It also goes on your permanent driving record; don't think it will drop off because you turn 18 or 21. It could affect your chance to get scholarships, acceptance into college or jobs, and can severely affect your status in military applications.
More can happen than that, though. Permanent damage can come as well as being ticketed. What might be even worse than permanently injuring or killing yourself due to intoxication could be killing or injuring one of your friends.
Don't fall prey to the "invincibility syndrome" either. It seems that most young people think that bad things can't happen to them, they are invincible. Remember that probably every one of the multitudes of young people killed or injured in alcohol-related accidents every year think the same thing, and they were wrong, too.
You are all graduating this weekend, and have proven your ability to be educated. Don't contradict that this weekend by doing something stupid.
