So I'm Kind of a Big Deal.

No really, I am. I kind of got published in a newspaper.

Tuesday. August 21st. 2012. 

The day my life changed (Actually it was the 22nd because that's the day my paper comes in the mail, but for all intensive purposes we are using the 21st).

Prepare for dramatization of events that really did not happen like this at all( I prefer this be read in a British accent. You may not read it otherwise):

"Not knowing whether my work was good enough to make the final cut, sat there I,  tapping a pen back and forth on the night of August 20th. Tap, tap. Tap, tap. While chewing my finger nails down to bits, I pondered what tomorrow would bring. My feet could be swept up and taken into a lavish lifestyle. Picturing myself with a martini in hand, mixing business and pleasure with the big wigs of the American newspaper society. Yet, the worst could overcome. Instead of rolling in my new wealthy lifestyle, my soul could be fed to the dogs. Rejected and cold, my new home would be nothing fancier than a browned, soiled cardboard box. Come the morning with the sunshine and chirping birds, I found myself flabbergasted while enjoying my morning brew. I- yes I- was featured in my cities newspaper. My words spread across a half page in the beautiful newspaper ink. My words- not yours- but mine for all the beautiful hearts and souls of my lovely town to enjoy. While not holding a martini in my hand, I held the greatest wealth any writer could ever long for- my words- yes mine- published."

 So I might have failed to mention that my town has a population of a little over a thousand. Sure, it was not The Times or The New York Post. & yeah, it was not Cosmo. & yeah, it might not have even been Star. But it was pretty close...Well, not really close. It was a newspaper.  Though I don't live in a town of one million or even ten thousand, I still felt like the whole world would read my work & so they will.

So as much anticipated, here is my first published article [screams of excitement]. Picture a little kid in a candy store, with unlimited funds. Yeah- I was that excited. Don't hate.

Printed in the Edina, Sentinel August 21st, 2012:

A Rush to Six Feet Under

The sixties- a time of LSD and psychedelic prints. The seventies- Marijuana and dancing disco queens. The eighties- Cocaine and John Hughes movies. The nineties- Ecstasy and trapper keepers. The 2000's- Methamphetamine and skinny jeans. Fads are nothing new to American Society and culture. Each decade can easily be associated with different types of fashion, movies, music, and more importantly, drugs. After attending the forum hosted by The Knox County Coalition Against Meth on the evening of August 13^th, I realized there is a new fad on the rise.

Held at the Knox County Community Center, members of the community came out to hear the presentations of two speakers. The first speaker, with18 years of experience, is a Sergeant with the Division of Drug and Crime Control as a Narcotic Investigator. He outlined the “Shake and Bake” trend. It is a popular way to manufacture methamphetamine. From simple cold medicine to camp fire fuel, community members soon realized that the ingredients used in the manufacturing process are not foreign. When it came time for questions, one community member strongly voiced his concern on methamphetamine and how it is effecting the children of our community. The second speaker, with 13 years of experience, hails from the Saint Joseph Missouri Police Department. Capturing the audience's attention, he used witty commentary and pictures to help lighten the subject matter. Captivating the audience with his presentation of case stories, he brought some audience members to tears. Story after story, I faced the realization that it is my generation being heavily affected by the newest fad drugs- Bath Salts, K-2, and Plant Food.

These are not your average bath salts, incense, and plant grow. They are not crystallized and scented like cherry blossoms, the plant food is not Miracle grow, and the K-2 is not the normal incense you burn to add a pleasant aroma to your room. Most bath salts contain a substituted cathinone, which have a similar effect of cocaine. What separates this decade's fad drugs from others in the past? It is still completely legal to sell. Being sold mostly at convenience stores and tobacco shops, the products are simply marked “not for human consumption”. Yet seven out of ten times, if you ask the clerk how to use the product, they will instruct you. One of the main issues is that the drug is hard to detect because so little is known currently.

Young lives are being wasted all for a little rush. After one time, a drug user is always looking for a bigger high. The further they fall into addiction, the more statuesque they become. Constantly striving for a goal that they will never reach. The truth about Bath Salts, Plant food and K-2 is that they are not okay for consumption. Teenagers need to realize that with these drugs it only takes one time to change their entire life.

Instead of giving it try, I will tell you exactly what will happen when you choose to light up the “legal” drugs. Do you like being chased? Well prepare to be chased all the time. Users of these drugs commonly report that they are always being followed. Do you like being covered in bugs? Get ready to scratch. Reports show that users feel like they have bugs crawling all over their skin. Have you thought about trying cannibalism? This drug takes only a few weeks and you will be eating faces off of people. The most terrifying result is actually one of the most common symptoms. Most users of these fad drugs report the feeling of constantly wanting to kill themselves. The sad reality is that some act on that feeling.

Teenagers and young adults need to realize there are many other ways to get an adrenaline rush . While spending thousands of dollars on bath salts and plant food, you could go sky diving multiple times, learn to drive a plane, go skiing at a resort, furnish a food bank, write a novel, go a spur of the moment vacation, feed a humane society full of animals, or simply buy yourself a new wardrobe. Instead of turning a man's face into practically nothing, you could skip the smoke and chew on a piece of beef jerky. A delicious, less cannibalistic rush. In the end it really is all about choices. With the “plant food” fad, you could make the choice between packets that make your plant “happy” or “real happy”. I have a decent background with plants; they are typically happiest with a little bit of water, moderate sunshine, and a bit of healthy conversation.

Our community needs to learn to make the right choice. Let's put down the Bath Salts,throw away the Plant food, and stop inhaling the K-2. One right choice from our small community can lead to a big change nationwide.

I hope you enjoyed my first printed piece of work. Prepare for more in the future.

But for now I'm just ...

Simply Shelby Sue

P.s. I like you all. You smell of sugar plums & now I have fairies dancing in my head. Thanks for that.