The Best Way to Stop is To Never Start

Aubrey, Greg and Paul at ECU

When I was a freshman at Lees-McCrae College, across the dorm hallway lived two sophomores. They were great guys, hit the weight room on a regular basis and loved the Rolling Stones. They also liked to smoke marijuana.

So about once a week, using the knocking code, several friends would gather in their dorm room. They would put the box fan in the open window, get out the long neck Budweisers, turn on the music and start puffing away. They always invited me to join in on the festivities, but since I didn't smoke dope, I wasn't always eager to watch them get high and laugh at stupid stuff.

One day these guys announced they were not smoking weed anymore. Not only were they wanting to get stronger in the weight room, but the idea of getting busted and kicked out of school wasn't too appealing either.

A month or so later, we all took a road trip to East Carolina University for Halloween. The ECU campus during this time is one humongous block party. While there, I wanted to see some friends I hadn't seen in awhile. So we decided to meet up again at Garrett Dorm, which is near downtown Greenville and the block party.

After visiting with my friends, I decided to head out to find the guys in Garrett. As I got closer to the dorm, I could hear them laughing hilariously. Once inside their room, I could smell the strong odor of marijuana. Yep, they had fallen off the wagon.

A week later, I was standing in the hallway talking with my friend, Turtle (because he had such a thick neck) about the incident. I said, "I'm disappointed. You guys said you were going to quit. What happened?" I'll never forget what he said.

"Paul, the best way to stop is to never start."

I can't explain it, but bells and whistles went off inside of me. His advice had a profound affect on me. A principle was involved here, that applies to any situation. Don't give in to peer pressure. Never open that door to a moment's weakness, whether its drugs, alcohol, smoking or whatever the case may be.

The best way to stop is to never, ever start.

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