Drugs and Alcohol“Two roads diverged in a yellow forest, and I regret not being able to travel both.” Recent surveys have revealed that drug use among adolescents has decreased by more than 23% in the last five years. Most drug use begins in preadolescence and adolescence, crucial years in the maturation process. During these years, adolescents are faced with several tasks: discovering their identity, clarifying their sexual roles, asserting independence, learning to manage authority and seeking goals that give meaning to their lives. These are my experiences and those of others around me. I remember my first drink at the tender age of thirteen. It was forty ounces of Olde English malt liquor. That night was the first time I vomited. Obviously the “friends” took care of me. As time went on and I started hanging out with them more and more, I finally decided that I wanted to be a Crip like them. The alcohol consumption was enormous and I began to envy the state of euphoria of my Crip members. So alcohol unknowingly led me to want to smoke weed. We broke off the weed shoots and rolled them into a grape- or strawberry-flavored Philly Blunt. Honestly, it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I felt really stupid just sitting there smoking and doing nothing. Even though I felt the way I felt, I regressed and fell under peer pressure to smoke “recreational.” One of the older members of my new gang family, ironically, was my real cousin. Everyone called him Snoop and he was four years older than me. He is one of the highest-ranking members of the Crips, but he was only five feet seven inches tall. But his stature should not or should not dictate his role as a leader. He was definitely a standout and wasn't afraid to show it. He always had his blue rag carefully folded in his left back pocket. Even though this was true, he was quick to help his family. He always warned me about using other illicit drugs because of his wrong actions and experiences during one of his “trips”. He always told me I was lucky I didn't live in Stockton, California. Just the fact that he was so honest and forthright about the adverse effects of drugs was enough to dissuade me from even trying any other drugs other than marijuana and alcohol.