[slideshow id=82]Going into the Shattered Dreams program, I was unsure of what to expect, but I had no idea it would make such a huge impact on my life and decisions.

One of the things that stuck out to me the most was that Ms. Howard continued to point out the fact that we were able to have an alcohol-free party and still genuinely have a good time. She proved to us that you don’t need to be wasted to have fun.

Even though the wreck wasn’t real, seeing it first-hand really did have an effect on me. Watching Aubree Zuniga be carried out in a hearse and Adrian Montes on a stretcher I feel really showed how big of an impact drinking and driving can have, and I’d hope the student body feels the same way.

The retreat was definitely my favorite part, though. From listening to the boys sing karaoke and watching The Outsiders together, to comforting each other while we read letters from our parents. The retreat gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing people, which surprisingly made it really easy to be away from my phone for so long.

In the morning, we all gathered in the lecture hall to write our dreams on sheets of paper and watch the Shattered Dreams videos RNN made. Then, at the memorial assembly our obituaries were read, Coach Mann gave a speech and we came back to life while we held our dreams up for the students to read.

My family has a history of alcoholism, and even though Shine On is primarily aimed at students, I hope it made an impact on them as well as the student body. I just hope that after this experience, people understand the chain reaction of impaired driving, and that it encourages them to make smarter decisions because one bad decision can have fatal consequences.