Holidays are fun and wild for students on summer vacations. They attempt to do rash things that put themselves as well as others in danger. From drag racing to excessive drinking, I`ve seen it all in my 12 years working in a school environment. The goal of this article is to educate adolescents and teenagers on the necessity to stay safe and not to do things that could endanger their lives and the lives of others. As such, it will highlight 10 things that I`ve seen happen in hopes that it will prevent any further occurrences.
1. Assassin bugs:
Many teenagers travel to Mexico and Central and South America for their vacations. Many are not aware that there is such a thing as Assassins bug which transmits Chagas disease. This disease causes long term chronic problems that could cause serious cardiac and digestive issue. A notable example of someone who suffered from this was Charles Darwin. Speak to your doctor before traveling to those areas.
2. Staying Indoors:
Many students come back to school with the note that they sat in the home most of their summer either sleeping or playing video games. They usually do not regret that decision until winter comes and they realize that the hot weather was taken advantage of.
3. In Jail:
This would be the worst case scenario. I know a person I mentored who was apprehended by police for smoking pot. He told them to f*** off and spent a couple of nights in jail. No one would set the bail for him since he had a restraining order on his mother.
4. Racing:
A week before school began a couple of students decided to go for a midnight joyride. The driver of the car was not properly trained and stole the car from his parents who were sleeping in the house. While driving through the streets of Toronto at high speed, the driver crashed the car into a tree. 1 student was killed upon impact. My heart sank the day I got a call that one of my students died.
5. Wave Pools:
The summer is a perfect time to go to the pool and relax. However this fun is not for all students and in fact I`ve seen tragedy strike right before my eyes. A 13 year old teenager was bathing in a wave pool just north of Toronto. Suffered from heart problems, she sustained a heart attack inside the pool and drowned. The whole school community were in shock over the untimely death of a special person who brought one of the most significance gifts to life. Check with your doctor before deciding to do any rash activities this summer.
6. Walking barefoot outside:
A Canadian tourist was vacationing in Brazil and Argentina. She hardly wore slippers or shoes while walking outside. Little did she know that she was stepping on fire caterpillars that release toxins that cause internal bleeding and immense organ failure? Going untreated until she came back to Canada was something that cost her her life.
7. Drinking too much:
Excessive drinking is not something that anyone should try, especially when underage. They may find themselves in the hospital getting alcohol out of their system. Excessive drinking may also cause students to damage their liver which serves to detoxify the toxins inside alcohol. Watch an episode of Fresh Prince of BelAir where Carlton gets excessively drugged by Will and ends up in the hospital.
8. Bullying:
Sadly bullies do not take a summer vacation. School bullies enjoy their summer vacations taunting their victims in recreational centers, pools, playgrounds and in the mall. It is usually a scenario of the older kids vs. the younger kids.
9. Taking sleeping pills on long flights:
Never ask for someone`s sleeping pill to take. You may be sleeping through the plane ride, but may feel disoriented after. This may ruin your vacation, include for those who never took pills before. Interestingly enough someone I know took a pill as he boarded. When he had a stopover, he had to go through the gates and again wait until the next plane asked him to board. He missed the plane as he fell asleep in the gated area.
10. Working:
Have fun and don`t work too hard. Maybe take a vacation for one week or two, spend more time with family and enjoy life to the fullest with warmer weather.
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