Thats something that I've always noticed, "a parents dicipline will just make you try harder not to get caught". BTW, I'm 14 and know from experience.

 

<< disipline doesnt change me at all, or anyone i know... >>



Hey Man...sounds like me a few years back [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] .

I had that attitude as well. I knew that I was right, and that my parents didn't understand what was going on, so who were they to tell me what to do?

I used to go out and party hard a couple of times each week, starting at the age of 14. You know, I got an older girlfriend (17) that was into that sort of stuff, so she'd bring me all of these places (actually sounds kinda lame when I look back on it [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] ). Anyway, the years went by and I finally got my license when I was 16. I actually went out drinking that very night that I got it, as well as the second night. On the third day after I had my license I went out again to another massive party. After the night was over I was taking a couple of girls home. I had never been to one of the girls' house, and she told me where the driveway was a &quot;little too late&quot;. I thought that I could make it, but I hit a patch of ice, and slid off the road over a 30ft bank, and rolled the car over (it was my Mom's car [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] ). Luckily the three of us were okay, and we walked up to her house. A DMV officer drove by and saw the car on it's roof over the bank, and he must have radioed the police because before I knew it there were at least 4 cops at her house. Anyway, to speed the story up a little bit I ended up having to take a breathalizer test and it came out that I was twice the legal limit. Let's just say, that's not a good way to start driving. Anyway, at the time I thought that was the worst night of my life. My parents wanted to kill me, I looked like a fool because I rolled a car over in a driveway, AND the cops caught me (not to mention I had only been driving for 3 days).

Now, to be honest, if I could turn back time I would not change a thing about that night (well, maybe I'd pick a better spot to roll the car over, but that's it). That night taught me so much about a lot of things. Sure, things could have been better, but things could have been a lot worse.

The point I'm trying to make is that if I wouldn't have smashed the car and got caught that night, I probably would have continued to push my luck and drive drunk. For all I know, I could have ended up killing myself, or even worse, killing somebody else. Of course, I always knew of the possibilities, but they don't seem real until something like this happens to you.

I know that you are probably thinking the same way. I'm sure that you have friends, or somebody that you know (even if you didn't even really know them that well) that was either hurt, or killed in a car accident where drugs or alcohol was involved. Also, by the sounds of it your parents are trying to get through to you too. Even though that is the case, you probably still have that &quot;it won't happen to me attitude&quot;. Like I said, I was the same way. I also know that this story isn't going to affect you, or your decision making. The only thing that will make a difference, is if something does happen (similar to what happend to me).

Now I don't mean to sound like an old Granny, and I'm not going to preach to you. Life is short, live it up. Whatever makes you happy. I would say to stop and ask yourself if it's really worth it or not, but until something bad happens, you won't know what I'm talking about. And if something bad does happen to you, I pray to god that nobody get's hurt, and that it is more of a &quot;learning experience&quot; for you than anything.

However, I know of a lot of people that have had similar experiences to what I have had, and it hasn't taught them anything.

Two very close friends of mine were driving home from a party one night and hit another car head on...it was their fault, and the person they hit almost died. My friends were not wearing seatbelts, and both of them suffered very serious injuries. They were transported to an out of state hospital and remained there for months. My friend that was driving (he was a guy), originally looked as if he was going to recover with no problems. The passenger (which was his girlfriend) was in very critical condition, and they didn't know if she was going to make it. However, things changed and she ended up recovering before him (he ran into some complications). She ended up leaving the hospital before him (in a wheelchair). That next weekend she was at the SAME party spot that she was at the night of the accident, and she was getting hammered again while her boyfriend was still in the hospital with possible brain damage. Some people just never learn [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

Anyway, this post has gone on much longer than I expected it to, and I'm sure not many people have actually read this far either. Although if you have, I think that you get my point.

This is going to sound very goodie-goodie like but....Have fun and be safe. Look at this as a learning experience, and always remember that no matter how bad it is, it could be worse.

-Josh

 

all i can say is my wifes father was killed by a drunk driver when she was 6. think of all those lonely holidays she had to go threw whishing her father was there because someone had to drive home drunk. its pretty selfish. if drunks kill themselves i could care less.

 

Funny how the people whom have never been parents are always the most knowledgeable about how to parent. I will say that your outlook on effective parenting will change over the course of your life (and with the roles that you assume), and that at some point, you will realize that your parents aren't the complete idiots you think they are, or that they were always hassling you, etc. Hell kid, they just love you, and are trying to get you to the point in your life where you take over, without killing yourself on the way there. By getting rid of your quad, they are trying to teach you to evaluate what's more important in your life (your dreams, or your drinking), and make smart choices about which to sacrifice in order to acheive the other. You'll never have as much fun over the long haul by drinking versus quadding, and if you did, you'd never remember, because you're too drunk.
I'm sorry that you lost your ATV, but you've still got some growing up to do, and that's got nothing to do with size or age. I only hope that one day you get the chance to thank your mom for the fact that she even cares, before one of you passes away, and you miss that chance. Then, your opinion of who the a$$hole was in this situation will most likely be reversed, if you get my meaning. I also hope that it won't take a life-threatening event to make you realize that drinking-n-anything is a bad idea. Hell, according to your story, you could've become another one of those &quot;drunken ATV'ers killed&quot; that makes us all cringe, and hurts our sport. Stop looking at just the punishment, but realize that you could've killed yourself, and that your parents may have been scared by that, and a little upset that you would take that chance, and disappointed that you didn't make a smarter choice. You shouldn't have to become a statistic to learn from them. Go home, hug them, and tell them you're sorry for your mistake. It may not change the immediate future, but it'll pay off in the long run. There's a song that said &quot;You never know what you have till it's gone (paraphrasing), and right now that means your quad. Don't let it become the relationship with your parents. Hell, you can always buy another quad someday.

 

Piranha and RubiBob have said it well. I will add, you may not accept the dicipline your loving parents are trying to give you. You will accept the disipline 'Bubba' gives you your first night in jail. Your parents have already done what you are about to go thru. They are helping the best they can.

 

Im Sorry to hear that you obviously didnt learn a damn thing and are doomed to repeat it until you do learn.



<< When I was 15 my dad was the dumbist man I knew, When I was 25 He was the smartest man Ive ever known. >>

 

Ya I have learned a valuable lesson too. Last year a few of my friends were over and we were all riding on the back of my recon and we thought oh cool we have some &quot;northern lights&quot; and we are all alone in the woods so lets light it up!! Needless to say we did and then I thought allright sweeet we will just drive back to my house and get something to eat. Two of the kids knew better then to ride back with me so it was just me and one other kid on my recon. We were going along and then I relized that I didn't have control of my legs so I couldn't shift , so we were in first gear the whole way home. The trail we took usually takes 5 minutes to gey home but this time it took us almost 45 minutes the whole time we were running over things and kept going off the trail , I was so fried that I couldn't even steer for awhile so we just kept bouncing off stuff and I kept almost falling asleep. Nothing bad happend but that was some scary $h!T I didn't know how to ride worth a **** . The point of that story is DON'T RIDE WHEN YOU ARE &quot;impared&quot;.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Drugs are bad mkay. You shouldnt smoke.

 

I have learned something from this whole experience. not to drink anymore. i'm gonna stop drinking completly for a number of reasons. mainly becuase i love my life to much to mess it up bad. also i dont want to hurt anyone else becuase of my stupid actions. 3rd reason i'm not gonna drink anymore is there is a history of alcoholism in my family, and i dont need or want to be an alcoholic. i'm still gonna burn, but i'm gonna start being more careful doing that too. i wanna thank everyone who posted on this thred for there help and input. i'll try my hardest to improve and learn from this experience.

thank you very much.
-Jeff

 

You should be ok dude. Its better not to drink if your not 21, but if you do, don't get drunk. Also just think how much trouble you'd be in if the cops would of gotta hold of ya![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]