BE smart from the start

SAY NO TO DRUGS

Did you know that tobacco is the number one cause of death in the world? Well, our D.A.R.E. officers taught us that along with many ways to stay away from drugs. By the way, D.A.R.E. has a meaning behind it. Dare stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. The two officers that taught us all about drugs and staying away from them are Officer Tracy and Officer Bob. They taught us many ways to prevent drugs and the D.D.M.M. (Dare Decision Making Model). 

Let’s start by learning what the D.D.M.M or Dare Decision Making Model is. The D.D.M.M is a way to solve a problem. It stands for Dare Decision Making Model. The D in Dare stands for Define in which you define your problem. The A in Dare stands for Assess. In this you list all your choices of what you can do to settle this problem. The R in Dare stands for Respond in which pick a choice from the choices you listed in assess. The E in Dare stands for Evaluate and in this you pick if your choice is reasonable. Now you really understand what the D.D.M.M or Dare Decision Making Model is. 

Now let’s learn some ways to back off drugs. Officer Tracy and Officer Bob taught us many skills to stay away from drugs. One way to resist drugs is to change the topic when someone asks to use them. Another way is to confidently say no to their face. If this doesn’t work then keep saying no to them and they will probably get annoyed. You can also simply walk away and do what you are supposed to do. We can also just give an excuse by saying I have to get home by 9.00, so sorry. If you want to be simple, then just avoid the situation. We can also use strength in numbers by picking the better option. There is just one more way DARE taught us, the cold shoulder. This means we show displeasure in something, such as smoking. We’ve learned a few ways to stop and think about what we should do in a situation of drugs.

Now let’s learn a few ways to control stress. Dare taught us many signs that are body gives when we feel stressed out. The biggest symptom is that you feel burdened and/or frustration. Many other times, your cheeks turn red and/or you heart beats faster. Sometimes sweat may be produced and/or you might feel embarrassed. Adults may even get headaches. When you have any of these symptoms, your body is responding to your stress and you should be alert of this. When you are stressed, you should do something like drawing or coloring to calm yourself down. You can also do something that you love to do and/or take a deep breath. Besides everything, we can use the D.D.M.M by following the dare letters, D.A.R.E. 

Overall we learned about the D.D.M.M (Dare Decision Making Model), ways to avoid drugs, and ways to control stress. I will remember to use the D.D.M.M when I have a problem. I will also remember to take a deep breath in when I am stressed. Like my two Dare officers taught me, I will never do drugs as we also learned before. Officer Tracy and Officer Bob taught me a lot about drugs and much more. I would like to thank them so much for being here the whole year. Thank you very much.