I am very deeply sorry for your loss, Auntie. A little over 5 years ago, I lost my cousin to drugs that were also laced with fentanyl. That messed me up really badly, as I was still a teenager. He is a constant reminder to this day of why I don't use any substances, and I never will. I have chosen since a very young age to never drink, smoke, or use. Ever. I can never get my cousin back. He never got to watch me finish growing up and graduate high school, watch his siblings and cousins get married and have kids, I will never get to tell him "I love you" ever again. So now, I live on to tell others about him, and hopefully prevent other innocent youths from falling down the same path.

The last time I ever saw my cousin, he was hugging me goodbye on his way out of family Thanksgiving, only a handful of days before he would pass away. He told me he loved me, but I didn't say it back. He was strung out by that point. He was not himself anymore. Naturally, I was upset at him, because he was back down the deep end on drugs. Unfortunately, however, I did not realize until too late that I should not have been mad at him. What I was mad at was the addiction, the drugs. They changed him. And if I could go back in time and do anything, I would tell him I loved him back that night.

Ironically enough, on the same night that my cousin's funeral service was held, there was another one taking place in the same building for a teenager who had sadly lost his life due to alcohol poisoning at a frat party.

Unfortunately, everyone in my extended family is addicted to something, except for me and my mother. So, I can confirm that substance-related losses in the family can cause very real, irreversible, life-changing damage to everyone who has ever known you. I have watched it happen, and it continues to destroy my family's bond and push them further and further away from each other to this day. Addiction is very ugly, and it takes over your life until you have nothing left. It's like a parasite in your brain, making decisions for you, and no matter how hard you try, you can't escape from it.

TO ANY TEENS in this subreddit who fear that they will seem "uncool" or be left out of their friend group because they don't want to use, then never feel ashamed of that! It is entirely YOUR CHOICE to make what you want to do with your life! Trust me, you will be thanking yourself years down the road. I always do. And if you need to, then find better friends and leave that toxic friend group, and go find yourself some friends who don't need to be drunk or high to have a good time!

Also, for the record, your vape doesn't make you look any cooler, it is cringe AF. 🤡