As seventh graders, we all laughed when the topic of alcohol or other drugs came up. I feel stupid for sitting in my middle school health class and never having the thought cross my mind that any of my classmates could end up like the people in the videos we watched- overdosing on drugs or being hospitalized after a drunk driving accident. I feel embarrassed for thinking it was cool to pose holding a red solo cup in my Instagram picture when really I was just drinking lemonade. I feel sad as I see the paths some of my old peers have chosen to take.

I can look back at my high school experience as so amazing. I discovered what I wanted to do with my life, got into my top choice college, played in a sectional championship game, became close friends with a variety of people and created strong relationships with my teachers. I never put any deep thought into how and why things changed since my freshman year.

I've been told to remember who I enter and leave high school with. Friends come and go, and some are meant to last long. Others fade out and now all you give is a simple "hey" in the hallways. You aren't interested in their life like you used to be- you have bigger things to think about and other friends to keep up on. What sucks the most is to see they chose drugs over you. You didn't just happen to lose touch with each other, you watched them slowly emerge into a life of alcohol and drugs. On a Friday night you texted them "hey wanna get dinner?" and you got an answer back 3 hours later, "sorry, can't". At first, you're like- okay, this is high school, there's obviously going to be drinking and parties, I'll just let them continue and enjoy their night. But 2 weeks later you don't even find yourself asking if they want to go to dinner, because you're so sure they have better things to do. You find yourself worried and you find yourself wondering if you were as important to them as you thought. As you watch your friend spiraling out of control you ask yourself if you should mention something to them.

It's all up to you to decide if you want to let it be or confront your friend. But in my case, I let it be. People move on, change and grow up in different ways. And if you're reading this right now and are thinking "damn, is this about me...?", no it's not. All I know is today I am blessed with a group of amazing friends, but my distant friends have also found that group for themselves. There's no hard feelings or regrets- we're living our lives how we want.