High school summers never seemed better; freedom, friends, the sun, relaxing. The thought of summer approaching is more than any teenagers' heart could take. No more homework, staying out late and sleeping in. However, what if you have friends from the wrong crowd who see summer as a way to test their own limits?

When I was little, I was so eager to go to high school. I felt so independent just thinking about it. I was excited to stay out a little later, to go do things with just my friends and not worry about my parents breathing down my neck about every little thing. But along the way I met some friends who seemed to be going down the wrong path. Summer wasn't full of fun, it was full of drugs.

I first noticed a change in my friends when they wanted to start going to upperclassmen parties. And although deep in my heart I wanted to believe they wanted to go to just socialize, I knew the reality of it was they wanted to try new things. Dangerous new things.

The first time my friends tried marijuana, I let it slide. I told myself "it's highschool, these kinds of things happen. At least they're okay and they won't do it again." In fact, they didn't do it again. They became obsessed with the idea of trying new things and branching out, but in all the wrong ways.

One day I overheard my friends talking about trying cocaine. The thought of it alone scared me. The more I tried to persuade them to refrain from doing it, seemed to only intruige them more. When I informed my mom, she told me a story of when she was in high school. When her and a friend were going to go to Panama City Beach and try cocaine for the first time -- luckily my mother became very ill and was unable to go. Her friend told my mom "I'm glad you didn't try it, because you would've loved it." My mom's friend is currently fighting everyday for her life and caught up in significantly lethal drugs. As soon as I heard that, I thought of my friends. I thought of them not graduating from high school, throwing away everything they worked so hard for, a funeral for a 16 year old who threw away their life for a shot of cocaine.

The worst part is they don't think about that when they're about to take a hit of marijuana or a shot of heroine. It is crucial to remember, these are the times of our lives; we need to stick around to see what we can be. Not to see how many significantly dangerous drugs our bodies can take before they give up.