Think of consequences of your actions

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September 18, 2011

Think of consequences of your actions

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Sun Sep 18, 2011, 09:10 AM EDT

As I get older, I see more and more people do irresponsible things. People tend to think they are indestructible. They think they will never get hurt because they have not in the past. However, that obviously is not true.

I see adults do some pretty silly things, but teenagers have taken it to a whole new level. YouTube is loaded with people from all different age groups doing ridiculous tricks and stunts and the aftermath is not always so pretty.

Many parents regret some of their tattoos because they did it at the spur of the moment or while drunk, with no thought put into it. Yet still to this day, people are getting ridiculous tattoos in the heat of the moment because they do not realize that they may come to hate them when they grow up.

Reckless driving and deaths often happen because teens are getting sports cars with way too little driving experience or maturity. Many teenagers find that there is a high amount of pressure to go fast. If their friends are in the car with them, they may think it's cool to speed. Well, it's not. If you go around a corner too fast or can't slow down, the results could end in death.

The show "Jackass" is a perfect example of what kids mimic on YouTube.

Don't get me wrong, I do watch "Jackass" from time to time. However, I realize that what they do wouldn't be safe if I did it and that it should not be done without professionals around. Yet a multitude of children still attempt to do the stunts seen on the show.

Kids think they can drink all they want without any problem, yet in 2007, 23,199 people died of alcohol-induced causes. So if you do drink, do it responsibly and have a limit.

Sometimes parents really do know best.

When my dad was younger, the pedal on his bike broke so that only the steel bar was left. His dad warned him a dozen times to change it, but he didn't.

See advice on Page C3

A few days later, my dad crashed doing a jump, and the steel rod went right through his knee. If he had listened or thought of the consequences, that would not have happened.

My dad had a friend that thought it would be smart to hold a rocket in his hand and light it ... bad idea.

Now he has a permanent scar on his hand from being irresponsible and not thinking.

Many teens have a problem of not thinking about the consequences of their actions.

All they think is "I saw someone do this on TV, so I can do it too," or "there's no way I will get hurt."

However, we see kids getting hurt every minute of the day from not thinking over their decisions.

So before you perform a trick of any sort or mimic what you saw on TV, think it through and be safe.

Melissa Flathmann, a 2011 graduate of Oneonta High School, is a freshman at the State University College at Plattsburgh. Would you like A Word of Advice from her? Send her an e-mail at melissa_flath@yahoo.com or send her a letter to "Teen Talk: A Word of Advice," C/O The Daily Star, P.O. Box 250, Oneonta, NY 13820. 'Teen Talk' columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/teentalk.