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Gabriel Calanayan

JROTC Period 6

November 16, 2023

Red Ribbon Week (23-31 October) Service Learning Reflection

In this essay, I plan to provide a reflection regarding Red Ribbon Week. I plan to discuss

what I did during Red Ribbon Week, what Red Ribbon Week means to me, and what I learned

and gained from the presentations of my instructor and fellow cadets. I will apply the JROTC

Reflection Model of Observation, Analysis, and Integration for this essay. This Red Ribbon

Week reflection will provide data about the importance of refusing drugs and how to refuse

them.

During Red Ribbon Week, I was educated about its history and what the week promotes

to us: Living A Drug Free Life. Substances and drugs are major problems in today’s society, so

during the presentations made by my fellow cadets, I was able to recognize the impact and harm

that substances and drugs do to your body. I was also able to understand why people do drugs

and how I can help prevent their use. Following the lesson, we made a commitment to stay

drug-free and wrote our names on a huge red ribbon as a sign to do so.

Although I have no relation to anyone who does substances or drugs in my family or in

my friend circle, I sympathize with families that contain substance or drug abusers, and this is

what makes Red Ribbon Week so important. This week means a lot to families that are broken

due to substance or drug abuse and to those who immensely suffer due to drugs. After reading
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the story of Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, I hope that everyone will follow the right path and choose

not to abuse substances, as it can cause damage to everything and everyone around them.

With this new information, I am able to integrate it into my life so that I can aid and assist

those thinking of abusing drugs and those who are abusing drugs. In school, there are countless

students who vape and abuse drugs. I can apply the Tips to Help Stop Drug Abuse, and some

examples are: convincing the person to seek help, telling a responsible adult about your

concerns, or reporting it to the authorities. At home, I will tell my parents and siblings about the

effects of drugs, such as poor health, little interest, and a lack of purpose. And to those all around

the island, I can participate in Red Ribbon Week events such as wearing a red shirt and ribbon to

show support and advertising Red Ribbon Week across social media so that others may spread its

message.

Red Ribbon Week shows the importance of refusing and preventing drugs. I was able to

learn about the background of Red Ribbon Week and the key points as to why the week is so

important. I now have the knowledge necessary to help prevent substance and drug abuse so that

others may not suffer the same fate as abusers. I hope that all will learn the valuable lesson of

staying drug-free in order to have a stable, coherent society.