Surviving the Party Season: Teens Say It's All About Choices

Samantha Arnold, 18, a recent graduate of , believes she makes good decisions when it comes to avoiding risky situations and has learned to navigate peer pressure.

Arnold, who plans to attend U-M, has friends who are on her page and friends who aren’t. “It’s tough to manage, but I’m not one to judge,” she said. “I just make sure all my friends know what the consequences are; most of my friends make good decisions.” 

High school parties — from casual get-togethers to graduation open-house affairs — are kicking into high gear.  The temptation and opportunity for under-age drinking and drug use increases tremendously during this time, say area community leaders, parents and students themselves.

Patch is providing a three-day series of stories that we hope will act as during the party season. 

Mallory Seide of Birmingham believes older teens can be role models for their younger siblings. 
 
“When my brother (Hunter) and I were growing up in Grand Blanc, he looked to me and I was making good choices,” said Seide, 24. “For the most part, I think because of that it was pretty much smooth sailing for him.”
 
Seide says her parents played an instrumental role in helping her make good decisions about drinking. “I’d see them have wine with dinner; they weren’t drinking to get drunk," she said. "And I really didn’t either, as time went on.”
 
Seide also says parents should practice what they preach. “To hear parents say, ‘No, no,’ doesn’t go as far as seeing it in practice,” she said.

Parents certainly play a role in guiding their kids, Arnold concedes. "But for me, the decision to not drink or take drugs is something I made in middle school,” she said. “I decided I wouldn’t drink because I don’t like the idea of  not being in control of myself. When you drink, you are not yourself.”  

Arnold has learned a lot through her role as  co-president of the Birmingham Bloomfield Community Coalition, a community organization that acts as a resource for parents and teens.

The BBCC and other similar coalitions provide resources and tips. Programs such as  seminar earlier this year help teens to think before engaging in risky behavior.

But it's the teens themselves who must learn to navigate the pressures around them, especially at this time of year. 

“High school graduation is a rite of passage, a transition, a step forward from childhood to young adulthood,” says Dr. Paul Smith, owner and president of Rochester Hills-based Abaris Behavioral Health “The graduation season is a time for celebration, when many teenagers have high spirits, are full of excitement, but also have low inhibitions and are more likely to engage in risky or life-threatening behavior involving alcohol and or drugs.”

Recent Seaholm graduate and BBCC volunteer Kaitlyn Krizanic shares this message with those who drink or do drugs or who are considering it: “It’s not worth it. You have so much time ahead of you, so to risk getting caught and burning your whole future over perhaps one mistake is crazy.”

Krizanic knows kids who have not been accepted at the colleges of their choice because of being caught drinking.

“One boy was at a party. He was drinking and was busted. The university where he was applying to go to school was informed and now he can’t go where he wants,” said Krizanic. 

Many kids, such as Krizanic, opt to co-host their graduation parties. “I’m doing mine with a couple of friends because we have many of the same friends,” said Krizanic, who also is looking forward to attending a lot of graduation parties this summer.

“These parties give you a chance to see friends you might not have seen in a few weeks, maybe play some volleyball and have some good food,” added Krizanic, who soon will be off to Miami University in Ohio.