With Memorial Day weekend in full swing down here at the Jersey shore, I thought it was appropriate to use this platform to write a little reminder for everyone as we enter into the summer months. The summer provides many holidays and opportunities to kick back and relax, and party with your friends. And yes, I think we can all agree it is fun to hang out with your friends and drink some adult beverages (if you’re legal) when you want to unwind. However, it is imperative not to lose sight of the most important thing: not drinking and driving. When you make the adult choice to consume alcohol, you make the adult choice to be responsible enough to know when you’ve reached your limits and to call a cab. So, if you take anything away from this article, let it be this: no reason is a good reason to drive under the influence.

I don’t care if it’s the fact that you’re an hour from your work and there is no way you’ll make it on time if you wait to drive in the morning. I don’t care if you only had a few drinks. I don’t care if it’s Grammy's 90th birthday and you have to leave right now. There is never a reason good enough to put yourself and the rest of the human population in danger. Because in the grand scheme of things, if we’re picking between you being 30 minutes late to work or a few minutes late to Grammy's birthday party versus risking your life and the people's around you, I'm picking you showing up late every time. You say a lot of things by making one decision when you choose to drink and drive:

1. You’re saying you don’t care about the lives around you.

2. You’re not thinking about the people whose lives are affected if you wind up in an accident.

3. You’re accepting the responsibility to deal with the consequences of a DUI if you are caught driving drunk.

4. You’re telling the rest of the world that you weren’t capable of realizing you needed to find alternate transportation when you had one too many.

5. But most importantly, you’re saying that the little things, like being on time for work the next morning, are more important than your life.

I’m not writing this to preach to anyone about why you shouldn’t drive under the influence, and I understand that judgment is impaired when these decisions are made. And I’m not saying don’t drink or don’t party, because everyone should have the ability to let loose when they want to. I’m just trying to remind everyone of the stakes at hand when a decision like this is made.

Unfortunately, too many instances have occurred when someone thought “I’ll be okay to drive” and wasn’t. Too many instances have occurred when families have gotten the call saying that the worst case scenario has happened and their child isn’t coming home. And far too many cases have occurred when someone’s life, who was completely abiding by the rules, was taken at the hands of a drunk driver who walked away with his/her own life.

Remember that you have a loving group of family and friends who won’t understand what they could’ve done differently to prevent certain outcomes. Your little brother or sister won’t understand why you didn’t come home. And no one deserves to be put through the pain of losing a loved one when the situation was completely avoidable. Remember that yours is not the only life at risk, and no one should ever have to suffer from your mistake. We all want to enjoy the holidays and the summer (however you choose to do that), and the best way to make sure everyone gets the chance to do so is to plan ahead when making decisions. Your life is too valuable. The lives of the people around you are too valuable.

Don't drive under the influence.