Knowing when to stop

Shawn Quinn
Formal Essay #1
9-28-01
Instructor, Brenda Wilson



The Strength to Stop



Who ever thought that a few casual beers would turn out to be a wrong turn down a dead end street? That dead end street is alcoholism, and my best friend Brian made that wrong turn. It was New Years Eve almost the year 2000 when he started drinking, and now not a day goes by I do not think of how I could have stopped it all.
New Years Eve began with my group of high school friends and myself playing our traditional basketball tournament. The tournament had been a tradition since middle school and now more than fifty of our friends would come and play. After a long day of playing we decided to get to partying. My best friend, Brian, who had never had a drop of alcohol in his life, decided that he would have a few cocktails himself. He had always been the good one when it came to drinking always looking out for everyone else. This time he said “what the heck its my seni...