Stupid Decisions: Reckless and Now Lifeless

EMILY KONG
Co-Opinions Editor

Everyday we make decisions that affect the rest of our lives. Not only do those choices stay with us, but they also deeply impact the people around us. Most of the time we’re well aware of what to do and what to avoid. Obviously, we want to make good choices because they tend to result in good outcomes. But what happens when we don’t? Recently, South Pasadena High School’s (SPHS) ASB President, Aydin Salek, attended a weekend party and it was there that he made the wrong decision.
After drinking too much, Salek passed out in the car. Realizing that he was not simply sleeping, his friends tried to revive him, but he was unresponsive to their efforts. There was also nothing the hospital could do later that night and the ASB President was pronounced dead early the next morning. Little did Salek know he would be paying with his life in deciding to attend a party and drink alcohol.
Salek was a popular student leader at SPHS. His many activities included being a member of the Model Nations, the American Cancer Society club and the swim team. With so many good things happening for him, it is even more tragic that someone with so much potential could make such a foolish mistake and lose everything so suddenly. Not only has Salek hurt himself, but he has also affected his family and friends, who he has also let down and dissapointed.
For Salek, the person he hurt the most was himself, but oftentimes, when drinking irresponsibly there is also the chance that we can hurt an innocent victim. Instead, a San Gabriel High School alumnus, Vicki Chen, was recently back in town from culinary school in New York. She had pulled over to the side of the highway because her car had broken down one night as she was returning home. A drunk driver, racing down the asphalt at full speed, lost control and hit Chen as she stood in front of the car, resulting in her tragic death and inflicting serious injuries on the friend who was with her that night. While innocently waiting for automobile assistance, Chen and her friend became tragic victims of a stupid mistake, something that that drunken man must bear with for the rest of his life.
Though it was multiple drinks for Salek, many don’t realize the severity of underaged drinkers having  even one drink. Nowadays, the recklessness with which alcohol is consumed suggests that we no longer care about the impact it can have on our present and, possibly, even our future.