Think About Consequences Before You Act

By Cheryl Mattox Berry 

Consequence (noun) – A result or effect of an action or condition.

My cousin, who is a sophomore in high school, got caught with a bag of marijuana in his book bag. Consequence: A five-day suspension and come-to-Jesus meeting with a police officer.

At a different school, the senior class president and another student were caught drinking liquor on campus. Consequence: A suspension and removal as class president.

Was it worth it?

Both students would probably say “no,” followed by “I wasn’t thinking.” Well, you need to think long and hard about consequences before doing something that you know is wrong. Don’t let stupid or spur-of-the-moment decisions get you locked up and ruin your chances of getting into college or landing a job

Yes, employers conduct criminal background checks and random drug tests. My cousin lost his job at a grocery store because he failed a drug test. That should have been a wake-up call, but it wasn’t. He got even bolder and took the marijuana to school.

In both incidents, the students probably thought no one would catch them. Someone is always watching via security cameras and staff patrolling the grounds. Don’t ever think that you can get away with something because you’ll eventually get caught. Just look at all the men and women in prison.

For some reason, teens think that they can outsmart adults. Never mind the fact that we were once your age and probably did some of the same stupid things. If you’re really smart, you’ll heed the advice of the adults who caught you behaving badly and play it straight from now on.

Schools have zero tolerance for violence, drugs, alcohol and weapons. If your friends defy the rules, don’t be a party to their stupidity. If you’re with them and they get caught, you could suffer the same fate. Be smart, walk away. You have too much to lose.