Red Ribbon Letters -- Nov. 5, 2006 -- Collinsville, OK -- www.cvilleok.com

This page sponsored in part by:

Verdigris Valley Electric Cooperative provides electrical service in Nowata, Osage, Rogers, Tulsa and Washington Counties.
Verdigris Valley operates as a nonprofit organization. Therefore, all monies in excess of the operating costs and expenses of providing electric power to its members are credited to a capital credit account for each member. The amount allocated to member's capital credit account is based on your annual electric usage.

Be sure to visit www.vvec.com

By Haley Ganzel -- 6th Grade

"Respect Yourself -- Don't Do Drugs"
Drugs will destroy lives, family, and friends. Drugs will diminish your ability to have a career, or go to college. Your friends won't have anything to do with you, and your family will turn their back on you. Drugs can kill you and everybody around you. If you respect yourself you won't do drugs.

If you are trying to persue a career or go to college, and you are doing drugs, or have done drugs in the past no one will want to hire you. You can put working at a big organization down the drain. If you were planning on going to a hugh college like Harvard you can set that aside because drugs will melt your brain, and you won't be intelligent at all. If you do drugs your boss will sense something, and you will get fired. You can even get arrested, and taken to jail or prison.

If some of your friends are doing drugs, and they tell you to try them that is called peer pressure. If some of your friends are doing drugs and they want you to do drugs they are not real friends at all. Your real friends are going to stick by your side and help you instead of hurt you. If your friends are doing drugs they don't look cool they look like dope heads, and you're a lot cooler than they are by not doing drugs. So remember your real friends are the people that stick by your side, and they don't do drugs.

Your family is the most important thing in your life, right? If you do drugs then you are just washing that love down the drain. Your family will have nothing to do with you and you won't even care. You will be too wrapped up in drugs to care about anything, and you will lead a miserable life. Remember your family is your life and without them you have nothing.

I don't believe in drugs and I never will, but for some of those people out there who chose to destroy their lives, I feel really sorry for you. Drugs destroy family, friends, and careers. Why anyone would want to do drugs I don't know, but peer pressure might have something to do with it. Peer pressure is a way to make the kids who do drugs to look cool but they're really not cool at all. So remember always "respect yourself and don't do drugs."

Previous Coverage (Trick Rider)

By Emily Fuller -- 6th Grade

"Respect Yourself -- Don't Do Drugs"
This is an essay about how dreadful drugs are. It is so important not do do drugs. It is important because drugs can really lower your self respect. Here are the top three reasons why I think you should not do drugs. First, drugs are horrible for your health. Secondly, drugs cost way too much. Finally, there are many better things to do with your time.

Drugs are extremely bad for your health. Drugs and alcohol can kill you. They can also lead to lung and gum cancer, sometimes both. It is a very serious matter. Sadly, some people with cancer or other health problems continue to do drugs. Drugs mess up your brain. They make you do things you normally would never do. That is one of the ways people die from drugs. They die from overdose, drunk driving, shooting others and themselves, and many more very graphic things. So remember, drugs are all around bad. Don't ever start!

Drugs and alcohol are very expensive. Some people spend so much money on drugs that they can't afford to feed their families or even themselves. This is not a good thing! If you think that is bad, then listen to this. Many people every day steal drugs and then go to jail because they couldn't afford to buy the drugs. Drugs cost money that people often don't have. Don't even buy them.

There are so many better things to do with your time than drugs. Have you ever noticed how many movie stars, singers, and sports stars have gone down because of drugs? Movie stars and singers do this because drugs and alcohol cause them to make bad choices and do things differently than they would do otherwise. Sports stars do the same thing. Somrtimes they use an illegal drug called steroids or performance enhancement drugs. Drugs sometimes make you more tired causing you to do more things wrong. Just think, you could be out doing drugs and drinking, or you could be outriding your bike with your friends. Drugs also make you do poorly in school. Many people who do drugs drop out of school. If you don't do drugs, just imagine how you can keep up those grades! Staying away from drugs gets you more money in a career too. There are better things to do than drugs.

I don't believe in using drugs. Drugs are bad for your health. They cost too much, and there are just better uses of your time. So respect yourself, Don't do drugs.

Previous Coverage (Elephant Rider)

By Megan Doan -- 7th Grade

"Respect Yourself -- Don't Do Drugs"
It is important not to do drugs for your own self respect. Some of the reasons are your family, friends, and career. These are all very important to your life. You wouldn't want to mess anything up. Remember, your self respect is very important.

The first reason not to do drugs is because of your family. Nobody would like to destroy all the trust between family members, and that trust can be hard to get back. Trust is one of the most important things in a family relationship. The family would be heart-broken to learn of you doing something that is horrible to your body because they love you. Family is very important to your self respect.

Your friends are vital to your life. You and your friends support each other and give each other advice. You could lose this important support because of the drugs. Drugs mess with your mind and make things happen that don't normally happen. One of the most vital parts of self respect is your relationship with your friends.

Last, finding a career you like is better than a career lost to drugs. Your career can be best or the worst thing that could happen to you. A career that fits you is hard to find when your mind is clouded by drugs. Finishing school is a hard thing to do when you are on drugs, and it is pretty important to finish school for a good career. You could end up with a career in dealing drugs (your dream job could be lost forever), or you can stay off drugs and find the perfect job for you.

Love your life don't do drugs. All drugs do is mess with your mind. Drugs clouf your decisions and you do things you will regret. Remember family, friends, and your career are vital to self respect. "Respect yourself don't do Drugs."

By Brittany Fincel -- 7th Grade

"Respect Yourself -- Don't Do Drugs"
It's very important not to do drugs. It's a social disease. It also kills your self-respect. With your self-respect, it kills you inside. It causes rumors about you, and you get really boring.

Drugs kill you from the inside. If you smoke marijuana, say good-bye to your lungs first. Or maybe you'll be like, "Hey, I'm cool. I'm gonna get heart cancer." The real truth is, you're not being cool, but you are committing suicide from the inside.

Rumors can and will be spread about you. So while you're creating physical pain, you're also creating emotional pain. Either one can stay with you the rest of your life, but they both hurt. So don't set yourself up so people can talk about you.

Smoking it up can make your life really dull, Do you play sports? Not after you smoke a pack of cigaretts. Do you like to think logically?" Not after taking ecstasy. Eventually, everything you loved will become "whatever". So answer me this. Why turn yourself boring?

I have never thought about taking drugs. I love being lively, healthy, and accepted. I believe drugs are a self-respect killer. So remember this. Respect yourself, don't do drugs.

By Ying Yang-- 8th Grade

"Respect Yourself -- Don't Do Drugs"
Drugs are bad for you. Of course we've all heard this before. Our teachers tell us no to do it, our parents tell us not to do it, and even the TV tells us not to do it. Yes we've all heard it before, but not everyone is getting the big idea. Drugs are bad for you because it's bad for your health, destroy your education, and you'll die sooner.

Your friends might do it because its cool, but that doesn't mean you have to. Doing drugs is not cool. They give you health issues. The more drugs you do the more you are addicted to it. Drugs can give you severe health issues that you'll carry with you for the rest of your life. Don't do it.

When you do drugs you corrupt your education. If you do drugs then that dream of one day becoming a football player is dead. When you do drugs it has a large impact on your health. You can get lung cancer and have breathing problems. The more drugs you do the more damage you are doing to yourself.

You might think that drugs are not harmful, but they are. If you do drugs you have a higher percentage of dying sooner than a person who doesn't do drugs. You'll have health issues and you may even think to yourself: "Why did I ever do drugs?" When you have finally come to think of this question it will be too late. You already did the drugs and you can't turn back time.

Don't do drugs. It's not worth it. Drugs are bad for your health, corrupt your education and you'll die sooner. Don't do drugs. You'll regret ever doing it in the first place. Yes we've all heard of it before so don't do it. Don't do drugs! If you can't turn back the hands of time, then think twice before ever doing drugs.

By Kazoura Yang-- 8th Grade

"Respect Yourself -- Don't Do Drugs"
Drugs can affect a person physdically, mentally, and emotionally. Respect yourself including your body, and other people around you by not doing drugs. Why shouldn't you do drugs? First of all, drugs cause addiction, which means without it a person would be emotionally or mentally unstable. Second, drugs usually come along with many side affects. Third, doing drugs can and will affect your future.

Addiction makes a person dependent on drugs. Addiction may start when a person does the drug a couple of times. A long time without that drug could possibly make a person stress and could also physically and phychologically unstable. Methods of recovery from addiction vary widely according to the type of drugs involved, amount used, how it's been used, medical complication and social need of that person.

Drugs have many side-affects, either later on in life or taking place in their body at the moment. Drugs, alcohol, and other related items can cause diseases such as strokes, asthma, respiratory problems, and so on. Many drugs have poisons that are yet unknown. Taking too many drugs can cause serious injuries or even death as an outcome.

People should notice that drugs are getting into the hands of teens. Some teens believe drugs will help them tink better, be more popular, stay more active, or become better athletes. Others are curious or use drugs because they are depressed and want to escape their problems. It's important for teens not to do drugs because they are the future. There's a chance of passing it on to their offspring and so on. We have to protect our future if we want to prosper.

Don't do drugs for these reasons; only use medical drugs that can help. Remember drugs are addictive; drugs hurt many of you and people around you; and lastly, think of the future. Respect yourself; don't do drugs.