Something to think about

As the dust begins to settle on what will eventually be known as my first TV interview ever, I feel a complete divide about it.  On the one hand, what an amazing opportunity, it was fun and exciting, it was a learning experience, and come on, how many people actually get the chance to go on TV and talk about their personal project, very cool!  But I also feel like I barely had enough time to even touch on the greatness of this endeavour, I was a little nervous, and I missed a few key messages that I really wanted to get across, and it leaves me wishing I had another shot immediately.  I wanted to start by pointing two things out. First off, the next time you personally decide to downplay someones issues, or addictions, I suggest this, anyone that thinks it's so easy to not be an addict, I suggest you put it to the test. If you know someone who smokes cigarettes or drugs, or they are an alcoholic, ask them to quit and in return you will quit drinking coffee for 1 week and see who wins, I bet the results will be pretty eye opening. Secondly, It is very easy for us to imagine if we were walking down the street and a young woman was being attacked by 2 assailants, the odds are we would all do something to help, but there aren't too many of those situations and so we ignore the dangers that are going on beyond close doors.  What I mean is simple, there are even some people that would keep walking and just leave that poor girl to suffer her own fate, but what if that was your daughter, then for sure you would jump in and save her, right?  Why is it that things only have significant impact once they hit close to home?  Why wouldn't you be just as concerned if your daughter was struggling in school, you didn't spend appropriate amounts of time talking with her about her problems or you don't validate them.  Even though you think your daughter is surviving, what if her assailants are wolves in sheep's clothing?  Perhaps a man or friend who sees the girl is weak, or hurting decides to be a friend, a confidant.  Then the guy introduces the girl to drugs, and before long your little angel who's personal issues you may have not given the proper energy to, is inside a dingy apartment, on the wrong side of town, and she's involved in sexual acts with one or more partners in order to "pay" for her drugs, or just as a way to seek approval from the wrong kind of people.  Typically when boys go wrong, they act out with violence, criminal activities, drinking and drugs to impress their new peers, when it's girls, it's typically ALWAYS sex!!!  Maybe if we all took a second to think about this, the next time your little boy or girl comes home from school, stop them, make an effort to talk everyday at the same time, say 5pm, for about a half an hour minimum about everything.  How their day was, what they enjoy, what they don't, but most importantly, THIS IS ABOUT THEM, NOT YOU, SO MAKE SURE YOU VALIDATE THEIR FEELINGS, AND NEVER MAKE IT SO THEY DON'T FEEL SAFE SHARING!!!!