"Don't Do Things That Kill You" by Leah

"Don't Do Things That Kill You" by Leah - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

In one of his motivational presentations, youth speaker/comedian John Bytheway said something I found to be truly inspiring: “Don’t do things that kill you.”

While many would find this simply funny in its obviousness (which, of course, I still do), I took this short phrase to heart. I don’t do things that kill me. Period.
While lots of people think it ‘cool’ to drink alcohol or smoke or do drugs or anything of that sort, I realize that these things are harmful. Thousands of people have died, and still do, from needless problems like drunk driving, lung cancer, and over dosage. To be honest, I find it all to be a pity. Most of the death that happens in the U.S. wouldn’t happen if people just didn’t do stupid things that were detrimental to their health. If we stopped caring about how ‘cool’ we are and started caring about what state we’re in, physically and mentally, it would change us all for the better.

I suppose that I can get a bit too obsessive. I don’t like being outside for long periods of time without sunscreen because too much sun can cause skin cancer, and I’ve been burned red as a lobster more times than I care to remember. I’m terrified to drive, not because I don’t think I’ll obey the safety rules of the road (they’re just common sense, really), but because there are so many people out there that don’t obey the rules and can cause harm to others as a consequence. I also don’t particularly like swimming in the ocean because of all of the deadly stuff also swimming in it. (Yes, I’ve seen the documentaries. If you don’t want to be mentally scarred for life, never watch anything with “Top Ten Deadliest” in the title. Trust me.)

Sure, some people may call me ‘coward’ or ‘scaredy-cat,’ but I’ve found my life to be a lot safer and a lot less painful than people who have to find out the hard way just how dangerous life can be. I just don’t do things that kill me.