Persuasive Essay On High School Graduation

High school graduation is a milestone in our lives where we are able to celebrate the end of a journey, our new found freedom, and our first step into the “real world”, also known as adulthood. It is a night full of reminiscing on the memories we made with the classmates who have been by our sides since kindergarten, the classmates that we may not ever see again. It is a night with mixed emotions, teary eyes, smiles of relief, laughter as we think back on all of the memories we shared, talk of the colleges and universities we will be attending, what we will be doing, and the unbelievable realization that we finally did it; we graduated. It is an accomplishment we should be proud of, a night we should look back on. High school graduation is

an enormous turning point in each of our lives, our families, our friends, ourselves, but unfortunately, that turning point can easily turn into a truly unpleasant one, making a bittersweet moment evolve into a tragic event that can stain the lives of our loved ones forever.
Numerous graduates seem to believe that because it is graduation night, anything goes; the rules, and the law, do not apply for them that night. Underage drinking is an exceedingly dangerous decision, majorly increasing your chances of serious injuries such as alcohol poisoning, impaired judgement, physical and sexual assault, and even worse, death. Each year, 4,358 drinkers under the age of 21 are killed. On graduation night though, the percentage of death by alcohol-related accidents rises from 33% to 40%. When a celebration occurs like that of graduation, the mood for partying increases dramatically, which puts more people at risk - those who make mistakes, as well as those who make the right decisions and stay clean and sober. The increase of danger and deaths left parents and educators with the question of what to do to give graduates an alternative for the traditional party that included alcohol and other substances.
In 1980, eighteen teenagers were killed due to alcohol related accidents in Maine. The parents of the teens decided to come up with a way to prevent those who are underage from drinking and putting their lives in danger. The solution was Project Graduation. There are plenty advantages to attending Project Graduation: it is free, supervised, and a substance free party for graduates to go and celebrate their special night with their classmates, altogether, for the what may be the last time. It is a night that guarantees the safety of teens to go and enjoy their accomplishment of graduating high school without putting themselves and others in danger. Food, entertainment, and prizes will be provided, all for free, helping to make the last night of our high school career one we will never forget.
Project Graduation is exceptionally relevant for graduates in multiple ways, providing a safe environment for themselves and others to enjoy graduation night without the use of alcohol and other dangerous substances.

The last thing anyone wishes for at any given time is to lose a loved one. When drinking alcohol, you are putting other people and yourself at risk for engaging in dangerous decisions such as drunk driving, alcohol poisoning, memory problems, and impaired decision making which can lead to a multitude of regrets. The next chapter of our lives has now begun, we should not let it end so soon, we are just getting started with our future. For years graduates have made the decision to attend Project Graduation, and over the years the number of alcohol-related deaths on graduation night has decreased enormously. I am thrilled to be able to attend Project Graduation and enjoy my last night with the friends who have helped me on my journey through high school. I hope that every student in the Class of 2016 makes plans to attend the party that will keep all of us safe and away from alcohol and other substances. 79% of students took a poll and said that they were likely to drink and drive or get in a vehicle with someone who has been drinking on the night of graduation. That percentage should go down fast. Do not put yourself and others in the dangerous situation that could result in the loss of your life or someone else’s. Take the alternative choice, join the party at

Project Graduation, and be a role model to the classes that follow to make the right decision and say no to alcohol and the results that it could have. The importance of Project Graduation is to let graduates have fun without making poor choices and encourage them to not be a part of the 4,358 people that die from the making wrong choice, and that in itself is really significant. We have great things ahead of us, Class of 2016, this is just the beginning. Let’s celebrate our accomplishments the right way. We deserve it.