Alcohol
Dana's story

What do you do instead of drink alcohol to handle your feelings? Some people drink because they’re stressed or sad. Dana's brother was murdered. So was her God-sister. But Dana tells you why she handles stress without using alcohol.

“When I found out that my brother was murdered,” she says, “it felt like a piece of me was taken away.”

Dana worries that if she drinks, she might lose her dream of going to college and owning a business.

“Drinking may feel good in the present, but those problems are still going to be there, and it's like, what are you escaping from if the problems are still there?"

“I have people around me who do drink, but I also have people around me who don't. So, if I stick with those people who don't, I'm much better off."

“I can understand when people drink because they have problems, but I would just encourage them to find another way to handle them. The reality is, it could be worse. So, I just say, ‘Like, go exercise, or go swim, or do something constructive with yourself'."

“When someone offers alcohol just say it regular like, 'Oh, no. No, thank you. I don't drink.’ Or, 'I don't want one.' If they continuously pressure me to drink, I'll just like, get rude.”

Dana’s mother is another reason Dana doesn't drink. Her mom encourages her to stick to her goals.

“My mother,” Dana says, “she would be very disappointed in me if I ever was to come home drunk. She always tells me, ‘Don't ever pick up a glass. Don't put down your glass, because someone could always put something in it. You could drink it and not know'."

"When I'm older, I'll know that I made the right decisions and that it really worked for me just to keep my ground and keep respect of myself and still be strong and just keep saying 'no' to those people who keep pushing it on me cause I'll be my own person."