i usually wear this white hat

My Worst Decision

            There are many times in a kid’s life where he or she will be pressured into something. There are also many times where he or she will have to either say “yes” or “no”.  In most of these situations, the smarter answer is “no”. Unfortunately, when I was growing up, I was kind of a rebel. Being a rebel usually resulted in making the wrong decision for me; in this case, it was the worst decision of my life. I said “yes” to a cigarette.

            It was the last day of seventh-grade and nobody was more excited for the summer than me. In junior high, I was a normal, sports loving, procrastinating teenager. Every day after school I would bike home with the guys to go play basketball or video games. Although, today was no ordinary day; there was a big party at Chase Downing’s house to kick off the summer! Chase had told me earlier that week that his parents were going to be out of town, but he forgot to tell me that his older brother was having a party too.

            Finally, school got out and it was time to party! Chase and I biked over to his house immediately after school to start setting up the party, even though it didn’t start for another five hours. When we got to his house, we noticed his older brother already had the whole house cleaned up and ready. Since there was no preparation needed, Chase and I went outside to shoot some hoops. In his driveway, we were met by three of his older brother’s friends, and they were smoking cigarettes.

            Chase and I just went on with our business and started to play basketball. As the older guys finished their cigarettes I notice that they were going to smoke another one. At that moment one of them said, “Hey Chase, do you and your friend want a cig?”

Before I even had the chance to think, Chase shouted, “Hell yeah!”

As we walked over there I was thinking to myself knowing that I shouldn’t have a cigarette, but I didn’t have the guts to just say “no”. We had a cigarette with them. “Cough! Cough!” I immediately started hacking my lungs out!  The older guys laughed because they knew it was my first cigarette. Even though the cigarette was revolting, I smoked through it. I didn’t want to look like a wuss! Right after that, they gave us another one. Those three guys gave Chase and me cigarettes all night. Before I knew it, I was giving them money so I could have my own pack. I was trapped in a corner all because I didn’t say “no”.

            The party was a blast and there were a ton of people there. Unfortunately, I was outside most of the time smoking a cigarette with some of my friends who made the same dumb decision as me. I still smoke cigarettes today, and it’s by far the worst decision I’ve ever made. Hopefully, one day I will make the best decision of my life and quit smoking.