HMS STUDENT SAYS DARE VALUABLE

Every year thousands of youth across the country participate in the
Drug Awareness Resistance Education (DARE) program, and one Sampson
County student is very thankful for the course which she says helps
them steer clear of drugs.

"I have really enjoyed being in the DARE program this year," stated
Megan Kiger, a Hobbton Middle sixth grader. "I feel that this program
has helped me understand why I need to stay drug-free."

"This is a wonderful class and I think that everyone who takes it
will really enjoy it," she added.

The DARE program, a course taught to sixth graders at the middle
schools throughout Sampson County and across the state, is geared to
teaching young people about the dangers of numerous narcotics
including alcohol, cocaine and marijuana.

According to Kiger, alcohol is a stimulant that brings disarray to
one's life as well as others.

"By drinking alcohol, it can cause a great effect on one's mind and
personality," the sixth grader noted. "It can even cause people who
drink to become violent and hurt others as well as themselves."

"And if someone who has been drinking gets behind the wheel of a car,
it can cause a serious accident or even kill someone," she added.

Being a participant in the program, Kiger also learned that cocaine
is an illegal drug that plays tricks on an individual's emotions.

"Cocaine will cause you to become confused and unable to think
clearly," she commented. "It can also cause you to become short
tempered."

Kiger and her classmates also learned some valuable lessons about the
effects of marijuana.

"I learned that marijuana is a drug that not only slows reflexes,
causes poor memory and does other terrible things to harm your body,"
she explained, "but it also affects you mentally as well as
physically."

The DARE program not only introduces students to the dangers of
narcotics being offered to them, but it also provides insight as to
how many young people get caught up in the drug culture.

Peer pressure and stress are reportedly the two leading factors which
contribute to why many students, especially those in the middle
grades, begin experimenting with illegal narcotics.

"Everyone goes through peer pressure at one time or another," Kiger
remarked. "You want to be accepted by your peers, no matter what. But
you can't cave under peer pressure."

"I learned that I need to be my own person, and not do something just
because everyone else is doing it," she added.

According to Kiger, stress is something everyone that lives on planet
earth knows about. She compared it to making a bad grade on a test
and worrying about the consequences that will follow.

"Stress is caused by a feeling of pressure about a situation," she
stated. "But you have to find positive ways to dealing with it
because to much stress can be harmful and cause you to do something
you otherwise shouldn't do."

The two most important things Kiger said she learned from the DARE
program was to be satisfied with what you have and to always do the
right thing.

"Doing the right thing isn't always easy, but it's a lot better than
doing something you shouldn't," the sixth grader expressed.

You should not only do the right thing to keep yourself from getting
into trouble, but also from doing things that can affect you for the
rest of your life," she added.

These are some of the reason why Kiger thinks the DARE program is so
important to her as well as her classmates.

With a few parting words of wisdom, Kiger said, "This program is a
good way to get the community involved in helping the youth in its
area to understand the importance of life, and why they should always
stay drug-free."