I made a promise to myself when I was in 6th grade health class, and I have kept that promise to this day.

12 year old me was sitting through was seemed like the longest class period of my life because I felt like everything my teacher was saying was aimed directly at me. The topic was smoking, something I had been raised around all of my life.

Up until this point, both of my parents and many of my family members had smoked for as long as I could remember. I never cringed when someone lit up a cigarette because I was so used to the smell, I was offended when there were signs that said no smoking was allowed in a certain area and I didn't understand why my friends were so awkward when they saw my parents smoking.

But this class period opened my eyes and scared the crap out of me. I learned just what goes into cigarettes and what toll it takes on our bodies. I heard the story my teacher told about his family member who had been diagnosed with a lung disease and how horrible her quality of life was.

Finally everything clicked in my head. I understood why my mom used to snatch the lollipop sticks out of mouth when I would tell her I looked just like her, I understood why there were separate places for smokers and suddenly I felt like I had been sheltered from the truth for way too long.

I had been told they were bad and that they were addicting, but I guess my brain needed more information than that.

I was so uncomfortable studying the section with my parents because I didn't want the pain or anger I felt to show through to them. The last thing I wanted was for them to know that I felt any resentment towards their smoking habit.

For the entire rest of the section, I dreaded my third period class. I felt like my teacher and class mates all judged me simply on the fact that my family members smoked, and my theory wasn't far off.

One day our teacher asked us how we would try and stop the world from smoking. Every group came up with ideas like campaigns to scare them, offering money or giving them assistance. But one kid who sat next to me raised his hand and said "We should just kill them all, they're going to die early anyway."

Let that sink in for a moment. Because that's exactly what I did. I sat quietly for a minute or two and then I snapped.

Little angry Dani decided to whip around, look him directly in the eyes and say "So you want my parents, siblings, grandma, aunt, cousins and friends to all be dead because they're going to 'die early anyway'?"

He kept quiet for the rest of class except for a forced apology that my teacher made him give me.

As I was trying to calm myself down, I made a promise to myself. I swore that I would never smoke a cigarette. I never wanted to put my health in danger and I never wanted to put the health of the ones that I care about in danger either.

Eight years later I can still look back on the very day and still say that I kept my promise. I have learned to not resent those I care about who smoke and I have less anger towards them overall. It's their life, their choice and there is nothing that I can really do/say to make them quit.

My mom quit smoking a few years back, and I'm so proud of her. It was hard to watch her go through the quitting process, but she made it through. But even if she hadn't quit, I would still love her just as much, only maybe now I will be able to love her even longer since she may be healthier in the long run.

So to 12 year old me, you're still going strong. You've had cigarettes basically held to your lips and countless friends offer you one, but you've turned down everyone. Hopefully I will continue to keep this promise as the years pass and I'll be able to always look back and smile on the day I made this promise to myself.