The Branches of Consequences It’s in our nature as humans to make mistakes. But before making any type of decision we are supposed to think about it first, right? We are supposed to think of possible outcomes, potential ways it could impact us or other people, or how it could make someone feel. Decisions scaling from what we wear to school, to who we associate ourselves with has a way of shaping us and the people around us. Unfortunately people sometimes make the wrong decisions or often times forget to think of consequences when making choices. …It was a typical Friday night towards the beginning of my senior year consisting of going to the gym with some friends after school and trying to piece together some last minute plans for the night. Attending a tailgate before the big rivalry football game at our school that night seemed like a great idea to bond with fellow classmates and show support for our school. Upon arriving at the tailgate everything seemed to be alright. Little did I know, I would be learning a hard lesson that night. When everyone began to walk over to the football stadium for the start of the game, a friend of mine who had rode with someone else, asked me to put a bottle of alcohol in my car until after the game because he had nowhere to put it. Knowing that it was wrong to have alcohol, I still tried to help my friend out. I quickly walked it over to my car and was beginning to pour it into a plastic bottle so that it would not look suspicious. While transferring bottles, an undercover police officer pulled up behind me. I immediately knew I was in more trouble that I could imagine. Even if you think you may be making the right decision, you sometimes are not. I thought it would be okay because nobody was around and I was doing it to help my friends. This made me a firm believer that the best lessons are taught the hard way. My parents have told me all along about guilt by association, being careful who I surround myself with, and that my decisions impact more people than just myself. Within a day, my life as I knew it had begun to fall apart. I was suspended from school, sports, and was stuck grounded at home. Being taken out of sports for five games was a shock to my soccer team. I was the captain, the only senior, and the leader of the team that all the younger kids looked up to. As rumors between the parents and students spread, I lost a lot of respect. I needed to gain back control and fix what I had done. I decided that my soccer team would be a good place to start. I sent out an e-mail to the parents and players of the team personally apologizing for my lack of judgment and for putting the team in a tough spot. The hardest decision I had to make was changing the people I associated myself with. Turning towards new friends in your senior year of high school is not easy, but it had to be done. I needed to start hanging out with the right groups of people who would not be doing things that get me into trouble. The road to gaining back respect and trust is a long and tedious one. Learning to not fit in with the crowd and to be careful of who I associate myself with was a crucial lesson I needed to learn. There are so many different ways that simple choices can impact us and other people. This incident changed the way I think about the choices I make. As cliché as is it may sound, we all make mistakes but the most important part about mistakes is learning from them.