WOW! What an amazing experience I just had speaking to some seniors from Madera High School tonight about the Every Fifteen Minutes program. I was a part of this when I was a junior at Clovis High and it had such an impact on my life! For those of you who have never heard of this before, it is a mock drunk driving accident that "kills" a couple students at the school. These students get taken from school and do not have any contact with anyone for a whole 24 hrs. It is a surreal experience and really opens up your eyes to the truth about drunk driving.
Even though I was not in Fresno County, I could not turn down the opportunity to share my thoughts with them. I talked about my experience with it and the lessons I got out of it. I told them how it is not just about drunk driving, it is so much more than that! When you are a part of this program you are faced to think about things such as, "Did I say goodbye to everyone?" "Was I a good daughter/son?" "What was my legacy on this world?" Crazy questions to ask yourself when you are only 17, but teenage drunk driving accidents happen far more times than they should!

"It all  comes down to making the right decisions." I told them as I left them with the following quotes on decision making:

“It takes less time to do things right than to explain why you did it wrong.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882);

“When you have established that one alternative is good and the other is evil, there is no justification for the choice of a mixture. There is no justification ever for choosing any part of what you know to be evil.”

Ayn Rand (1905-1982); 

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.”

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919);

I had a great time, and even though these seniors were only 1-2 years younger than myself, they were still so respectful of what I had to say. I want to thank Madera High for allowing me to speak to you tonight and congratulations on taking the initiative to stop drunk driving!

XOXO

Morgan Edwards