Samantha Faulkner

West Milford Twp. High School

67 Highlander Drive

West Milford, NJ 07480

November 4, 2016

Future President at the White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Future President:

Hi Mr/Mrs President my name is Samantha. I am a 9th grader in a fairly large town of New Jersey. Although I know you are very busy I have a couple things to say about things I would like fixed in the United States. My biggest issue is drugs and alcohol issues. Today we live in a world of danger. I never know if I’m going to get beat up by an angry alcoholic or have to hide in my bedroom with the doors and windows locked because a drug dealer is outside my house dealing to people of my community. If it was NYC I wouldn’t be that surprised, but not in my hometown. I would like this to stop because its causing families to spilt apart, rising in

First, people don’t know how to how drugs control them along with alcohol. This topic matters to the entire population because not only has it affected me, but the entire country. I had a friend that moved to texas. She was the prettiest, most friendliest girl. She was a very popular cheerleader and I used to cheer with her. She was invited to practice with the dallas cowboy cheerleaders. She was so good at it until she started getting abused by her boyfriend. They had the most amazing relationship. She was 17 at the time. She had the most amazing life in front of her. However, like most girls she wanted to be with this guy. She finally got him and they were the perfect couple for the first three years. Then he went to a party one night and she stayed home because she had to study. He got hooked so quick and cheated on her countless times. Even though it hurt her so badly, she loved him. She would call me balling her eyes out. He was drunk one day and he got mad at a comment she made and he blew up and punched her, slapped her, pulled her hair, raped her just probably one of the worst days of her life. When she woke up he swore he would never smoke or drink again. And again she believed him and stayed with him. The next few months were so good for her. She was in love with him and she had a baby on the way with him. She was in college and it happened again and again and again. One night she went to her mom's house after she had her baby. She brought the little girl and said she was going out. She went into the woods and she shot herself with his gun. She committed suicide and now this little innocent girl doesn’t have a mommy because of one guy. Now he has to deal with the fact that she’s gone and his daughter will never have her mommy. He can not even see his own daughter because of his addictions. This little girl is now 5 and she will call me everyday and ask me to tell her the stories of her mommy about how me and her would cheer together and the sleep overs. The part that crushes me is that when me and my best friend were little we made a promise that we would always be there for each other. This little girl looks more at me as a mom then anyone. She tells me everyday that she misses her mommy. I go to Florida about 7 times a year and I see this little girl and she stays with me the entire time I’m there. Seeing her grow up without a mom is so hard. And I have to stay strong for her. I have to act like everything is amazing and okay, when it’s really not. This man has ruined the life of several people. Family, friends, and just her town were all affected because of this man. He knows he will never see his daughter and he will never have a family because he is such a mess up. By one single guy it has affected not just close friends and family, but yet entire communities. This is why so many families are affected by drugs and alcohol. It rips families apart and even though it doesn’t seem that bad think of all the single parents out there struggling to feed their own children because they had unprotected sex at a party.

This matter matters to me because the has affected my life personally and a lot of people around me and not only people i’m family with, but to several people across this country. So many people in my school have already ruined their lives due to drugs. And even my little cousins I worry for. If everything is this bad now I am truly scared for what they are going to have to deal with. As being a part of a family who has addiction issues I certainly want this to end. I love my family and i wouldn’t change any of them, but my family wouldn’t be as split up as it is if it weren’t for drugs. I’m a child of divorced parents. It seems like everyone is. But i have been unlucky to be the child of two people who hate each other. Many nights I hear my mom crying over my dad because of things he says. Not only was he a post addict, but he is also an alcoholic. Due to this I feel as if I have lost my father and that he rather have what he has now instead of me. I do not want not even just my little cousins to go through what I’m going through, but other little girls. My dad was never there when I grew up. I think he was at one of my birthday parties. Last year he completely forgot about my birthday. I have been so hurt personally because of the effects drugs and alcohol has on people and even my worse enemies I would never wish it upon. It’s truly very sad because you have seen them as these great people then its as if it takes over their lives, as if they are a completely different person.

Second, my personal experience connects to the country because I know for sure many families have lost members due to drug overdosing. In 2013, according to drugwarfacts.com, 47,055 people have died due to overdosing. This number is too high. In Florida alone, 18,446 people died in one year. One year! This is way too high of a number and is not acceptable. As a citizen, I know drugs are a big deal. Especially for where I live. I have lived in most of the most populated cities, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Jose, Orlando, Key West, Fort Myers and San Francisco. These cities were so fun to live in if you live in the right parts. When I lived in New York I lived in an extremely nice house on Central Park Ave. In San Fran I lived right on California Street. If these cities had these issues I would of said wow. It is not okay for any of this.

The causes of these issues are because of people thinking there is no way out. For example, people use them because of divorce, family death, financial issues. Some people just don’t wanna deal with their own issues. Obviously people aren’t going to use drugs or drink heavily because of bad grades or they got their phone away. People use them because they seriously don’t know what else to do. It’s as if they are at a dead end. I’m not saying that using drugs is okay if you have issues. I’m saying that they have nowhere else to go.

What you could do as a president is open centers for people to go talk about their issues. You could also try and have more security at the borders so that you no the drugs aren’t coming into the country in the first place. I know this is definitely not your biggest issue. But it is definitely a big issue in many families across the country.

In conclusion, drugs are pretty much going to be problem as long as people aren’t doing anything to help. You need to step in and help these people. Our last president didn’t do much to help these people. The “poor” citizens of the united states have most of the issues with recreational drug use. So do something about it. We as a country have come so far to let people make these decisions and ruin their lives. A program would be amazing for the citizens. So many teens are getting addicted so early. It’s sad to say our futures are down hill. So what are you going to do about it?

 Thank you.